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Hurricane Maria: new category five storm makes landfall in Dominica – live Hurricane Maria: new category five storm makes landfall in Dominica – live
(35 minutes later)
2.57am BST
02:57
Jackson says disaster plans are also being put into place for St Kitts and Nevis “as a precaution”.
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02:56
Ronald Jackson, director of the Caribbean disaster and emergency management agency, says:
CARICOM [Caribbean Community] Disaster Relief United being readied for deployment to Dominica at earliest opportunity.
Rapid needs and damage assessment teams [are] being readied for deployment to Dominica
I fear this is going to be a long September. One to be remembered.
Updated
at 2.56am BST
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In Guadeloupe – which could be the next island to feel Maria’s full force – winds have already picked up speed and the rains are intensifying:
#Maria #Guadeloupe La végétation soumise à rude épreuve ! pic.twitter.com/5rYBkbqvrR
2.42am BST
02:42
As Maria approached, Agence France-Presse reported on the islanders making preparations for the catastrophic storm:
Residents flocked to supermarkets to stock up on essentials as island officials warned people living in low-lying areas or along rivers to move to high ground.
“Just ready to ride out storm at best. With a little prayer on the side,” said school teacher Leandra Lander.
Lander collected water, charged her electronic devices and ensured her important documents were safe. “My work place is secured and so is my home,” she said.
The island’s airport and ports have been closed, and the local water company shut down its systems to protect its intake valves from debris churned up by the storm.
The government opened all the island’s shelters.
Dominican prime minister Roosevelt Skerrit warned residents to be especially cautious.
“Let us take it seriously and use the time that we have to prepare ourselves adequately,” he told a news conference.
Many islanders still remember the massive destruction and death caused by David, another category five hurricane that struck in 1979.
Business owners could be seen boarding up their properties earlier in the day, as they prepared to ride out this storm.
2.39am BST
02:39
The Trinidad and Tobago weather centre, citing local radio, says the roofs of many buildings “have already been torn off and severe damage has occurred” across Dominica.
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02:35
The tiny outline overlapped by the eye of Hurricane Maria is Dominica – it has now been swallowed up by the storm’s eyewall, with winds of 160mph (260kph) as it lashes the island.
Eyewall of #Maria engulfing most of #Dominica, including #Roseau. pic.twitter.com/aAcGnQTYo4
2.32am BST
02:32
Dominica’s prime minister now says he has been rescued – from his roofless home:
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Roosevelt Skerrit, the prime minister of Dominica, has posted on his official Facebook page that his “roof is gone” and he is “at the complete mercy of the hurricane”:
2.25am BST2.25am BST
02:2502:25
Around 70,000 people live in Dominica, the first island struck by Hurricane Maria.Around 70,000 people live in Dominica, the first island struck by Hurricane Maria.
Chamberlain Emanuel, head of the environment commission at the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States, warned before landfall:Chamberlain Emanuel, head of the environment commission at the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States, warned before landfall:
It’s really a desperate situation.It’s really a desperate situation.
We’re trying to be resilient but the vulnerability is just too high.We’re trying to be resilient but the vulnerability is just too high.
2.22am BST2.22am BST
02:2202:22
The US National Hurricane Center forecast predicts that Maria will head west-north-west from Dominica, with islands in its path – Guadeloupe, Montserrat and St Kitts & Nevis most immediately – bracing for winds of up to 160mph (260kph):The US National Hurricane Center forecast predicts that Maria will head west-north-west from Dominica, with islands in its path – Guadeloupe, Montserrat and St Kitts & Nevis most immediately – bracing for winds of up to 160mph (260kph):
On the forecast track, the core of Maria will move near Dominica and the adjacent Leeward Islands during the next few hours [Tuesday evening], over the extreme northeastern Caribbean Sea the remainder of tonight and Tuesday, and approach Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands Tuesday night and Wednesday.On the forecast track, the core of Maria will move near Dominica and the adjacent Leeward Islands during the next few hours [Tuesday evening], over the extreme northeastern Caribbean Sea the remainder of tonight and Tuesday, and approach Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands Tuesday night and Wednesday.
2.16am BST2.16am BST
02:1602:16
Even before Hurricane Maria arrived in full force on Dominica – at around 9pm Monday local time (01.00 Tuesday GMT) – tropical storm-force winds were felling trees and damaging buildings across the island:Even before Hurricane Maria arrived in full force on Dominica – at around 9pm Monday local time (01.00 Tuesday GMT) – tropical storm-force winds were felling trees and damaging buildings across the island:
#Dominica earlier today before hurricane-force winds reached them pic.twitter.com/uqMQc4EULm#Dominica earlier today before hurricane-force winds reached them pic.twitter.com/uqMQc4EULm
UpdatedUpdated
at 2.17am BSTat 2.17am BST
2.11am BST2.11am BST
02:1102:11
The following islands – some of them still in the early stages of recovery from Hurricane Irma – are currently on hurricane warnings:The following islands – some of them still in the early stages of recovery from Hurricane Irma – are currently on hurricane warnings:
DominicaDominica
GuadeloupeGuadeloupe
MontserratMontserrat
St Kitts and NevisSt Kitts and Nevis
US Virgin IslandsUS Virgin Islands
British Virgin IslandsBritish Virgin Islands
Puerto Rico, Culebra and ViequesPuerto Rico, Culebra and Vieques
2.07am BST2.07am BST
02:0702:07
The latest update from the US National Hurricane Center warned that Maria has become a “potentially catastrophic category five hurricane … The eye and intense inner core is nearing Dominica”.The latest update from the US National Hurricane Center warned that Maria has become a “potentially catastrophic category five hurricane … The eye and intense inner core is nearing Dominica”.
The eyewall has now barrelled into Dominica’s eastern coast, crossing towards the island’s capital, Roseau, on the south-west side.The eyewall has now barrelled into Dominica’s eastern coast, crossing towards the island’s capital, Roseau, on the south-west side.
2.02am BST2.02am BST
02:0202:02
Hurricane Maria makes landfallHurricane Maria makes landfall
Claire PhippsClaire Phipps
Hurricane Maria – which over the course of barely 50 hours has intensified from a tropical storm to a category five hurricane – has hit Dominica, in the eastern Caribbean.Hurricane Maria – which over the course of barely 50 hours has intensified from a tropical storm to a category five hurricane – has hit Dominica, in the eastern Caribbean.
The island was spared the wrath of Hurricane Irma, but now faces devastation as it is raked by winds of 160mph (260kph).The island was spared the wrath of Hurricane Irma, but now faces devastation as it is raked by winds of 160mph (260kph).
Maria is expected to cross Dominica and adjacent islands over the next few hours, before heading towards Puerto Rico and the British and US Virgin Islands.Maria is expected to cross Dominica and adjacent islands over the next few hours, before heading towards Puerto Rico and the British and US Virgin Islands.
830pm: #Radar update as #Maria landfalls in #Dominca. Eyewall consolidated possibly by temporary land conv. Distinct jog WNW last hr or so. pic.twitter.com/codbgs7VQi830pm: #Radar update as #Maria landfalls in #Dominca. Eyewall consolidated possibly by temporary land conv. Distinct jog WNW last hr or so. pic.twitter.com/codbgs7VQi