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| Hurricane Maria becomes 'extremely dangerous' Category 4 storm as it approaches Caribbean | Hurricane Maria becomes 'extremely dangerous' Category 4 storm as it approaches Caribbean |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Hurricane Maria has become an "extremely dangerous" category 4 storm according to the National Hurricane Center. | Hurricane Maria has become an "extremely dangerous" category 4 storm according to the National Hurricane Center. |
| The storm, which is currently located over the French Caribbean island of Martinique, is maintaining winds of nearly 130 mph (215 km/h). The Hurricane Center predicts it will strengthen over the next 24 to 36 hours. | The storm, which is currently located over the French Caribbean island of Martinique, is maintaining winds of nearly 130 mph (215 km/h). The Hurricane Center predicts it will strengthen over the next 24 to 36 hours. |
| The hurricane is forecast to move northwest, over Dominica and the adjacent Leeward Islands, and then proceed to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands on Tuesday night. | The hurricane is forecast to move northwest, over Dominica and the adjacent Leeward Islands, and then proceed to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands on Tuesday night. |
| President Donald Trump has approved an emergency declaration for the US Virgin Islands. | |
| The Hurricane Center warned of "large and destructive waves" and life-threatening surf and rip tides at the centre of the hurricane. Surrounding islands could be hit by rain strong enough to produce life-threatening floods and mudslides. | |
| The Virgin Islands were devastated by Hurricane Irma just weeks ago. The Category 4 storm killed dozens of people across the Caribbean, and damaged 90 per cent of the buildings on several islands. Some areas are still without power. | |
| The National Guard has put the deployment of more than 100 members to the islands to help with Irma recovery efforts on hold in anticipation of the latest storm. | |
| “I don’t think anybody’s ever been hit by a storm like that," Beth Tamplin Jones, a Virgin Islands resident, told Reuters of Irma. "To see another one coming is just so discouraging.” | |
| Puerto Rico, meanwhile, has not been hit by a hurricane this strong since 1928. The outer edges of Irma send punishing winds and rain to the US territory, and 85 per cent of people in the metropolitan area of the capital still do not have power. | |
| More follows… | More follows… |