MARIA SLAMS PUERTO RICO, KILLS TWO

San Juan, Sept. 20: Hurricane Maria made landfall on Puerto Rico on Wednesday, pummeling the US territory after already killing at least two people on its passage through the Caribbean.

The US National Hurricane Centre warned of “large and destructive waves” as Maria came ashore near Yabucoa on the southeast coast.

Puerto Rico’s governor Ricardo Rossello has told residents to brace for “the worst storm of the last century”, opening 500 shelters that can accommodate 67,000 people.

“The wind sounds like a woman screaming at the top of her lungs!” photographer and storm chaser Mike Theiss posted on Twitter as the hurricane hit. “We are getting absolutely hammered right now.”

Puerto Ricans had scrambled to board up windows and buy last minute supplies as the storm approached the densely populated island of 3.5 million.

“Puerto Rico being hit hard by new monster Hurricane,” tweeted US President Donald Trump. “Be careful, our hearts are with you -will be there to help!”

Maria made landfall as a Category Four storm on the five-point SaffirSimpson scale, packing winds of 250 km per hour. The US and British Virgin Islands — still struggling to recover from the devastation of Hurricane Irma — are also on alert, along with the Turks and Caicos Islands and parts of the Dominican Republic.

Maria has already torn through several Caribbean islands, leaving two people dead in the French territory of Guadeloupe.