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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2017/sep/19/hurricane-maria-landfall-dominica-caribbean-category-five-storm-live
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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| 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) | |
| 3.37am BST | |
| 03:37 | |
| Forecasts expect Hurricane Maria to hit Puerto Rico on Tuesday night and Wednesday. | |
| On Monday, Hector Pesquera, Puerto Rico’s public safety commissioner, told residents in homes not built to withstand such intense winds to move to shelters: | |
| You have to evacuate. Otherwise you’re going to die. I don’t know how to make this any clearer. | |
| Rationing has been introduced in the US territory – still recovering from Hurricane Irma – with water, milk, formula milk, canned food, batteries and flashlights all in short supply. | |
| 3.32am BST | |
| 03:32 | |
| Radio station Wice QFM, based in Domica’s capital, Roseau, still appears to be broadcasting. There is a live link here. | |
| One caller to the station has been describing “killer winds”. | |
| The host says there has been “constant, constant … pounding rain”. | |
| 3.26am BST | |
| 03:26 | |
| Dominica’s DBS radio station had been broadcasting news as the hurricane swirled across the island, reporting damage to the roof of the Princess Margaret hospital in the capital, Roseau. | |
| Shortly after reporting that something had crashed into the station building, DBS has now gone quiet. | |
| 3.18am BST | |
| 03:18 | |
| The eye of the hurricane crosses the centre of Dominica – with more strong winds and rainfall to come as the eastern eyewall makes its way across the island: | |
| Eye, dead center, over #Dominica #Maria #Cat5 pic.twitter.com/2tm3K9x08m | |
| 3.12am BST | |
| 03:12 | |
| Guadeloupe residents ordered to take shelter | |
| While Dominica takes the full force of Hurricane Maria, other islands have already been raked by its outer winds and rains, with yet others still preparing for its arrival, Agence France-Presse reports: | |
| Guadeloupe – the bridgehead for aid for Irma-hit French territories – ordered all residents to take shelter in a maximum-level “violet alert” effective from 8pm local time as powerful rains drenched the French Caribbean island. | |
| St Kitts and Nevis, the British island of Montserrat, and the islands of Culebra and Vieques were also on alert. | |
| On Martinique, which is also part of France, energy supplier EDF said power had been cut off from 16,000 homes, although a hurricane warning on that island was later downgraded to a tropical storm. | |
| In rain-lashed St Lucia, which also faced a tropical storm warning, flooding, mudslides and power outages were reported in parts of the island. | |
| 3.05am BST | |
| 03:05 | |
| Two years ago, in August 2015, Tropical Storm Erika hit Dominica, killing 31 people and destroying more than 370 homes. Many towns were cut off as roads were blocked and power was lost in what was at that point the most devastating storm to lash Dominica since Hurricane David in 1979. | |
| Erika had wind speeds of a maximum 50mph (85kmh) – much less than Maria’s 160mph (260kmh). | |
| In 2015, prime minister Roosevelt Skerrit said damage from Erika could set the island’s development back two decades. | |
| 2.57am BST | 2.57am BST |
| 02:57 | 02:57 |
| Jackson says disaster plans are also being put into place for St Kitts and Nevis “as a precaution”. | Jackson says disaster plans are also being put into place for St Kitts and Nevis “as a precaution”. |
| 2.56am BST | 2.56am BST |
| 02:56 | 02:56 |
| Ronald Jackson, director of the Caribbean disaster and emergency management agency, says: | 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. | 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 | 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. | I fear this is going to be a long September. One to be remembered. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 2.56am BST | at 2.56am BST |
| 2.47am BST | 2.47am BST |
| 02:47 | 02:47 |
| 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: | 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 | #Maria #Guadeloupe La végétation soumise à rude épreuve ! pic.twitter.com/5rYBkbqvrR |
| 2.42am BST | 2.42am BST |
| 02:42 | 02:42 |
| As Maria approached, Agence France-Presse reported on the islanders making preparations for the catastrophic storm: | 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. | 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. | “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. | 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 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. | The government opened all the island’s shelters. |
| Dominican prime minister Roosevelt Skerrit warned residents to be especially cautious. | 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. | “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. | 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. | Business owners could be seen boarding up their properties earlier in the day, as they prepared to ride out this storm. |