Dorian hits US Virgin Islands as Category 1 hurricane

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO >> Dorian became a Category 1 hurricane on Wednesday as it struck the U.S. Virgin Islands, with forecasters saying it could grow to Category 3 status as it nears the U.S. mainland as early as the weekend.

The British Virgin Islands and the Puerto Rican islands of Vieques and Culebra were also in Dorian’s path with landslides, widespread flooding and power outages possible in the U.S. territory, which faced its first major test of emergency preparedness since the 2017 devastation of Hurricane Maria.

Dorian prompted President Donald Trump to declare a state of emergency Tuesday night and order federal assistance for local authorities.

Dorian was located over St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands on Wednesday afternoon. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said it had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph while moving northwest at 13 mph.

The Hurricane Center said the storm could grow into a dangerous Category 3 storm as it pushes northwest in the general direction of Florida.

A hurricane tropical storm warning was in effect for Puerto Rico, with Dorian expected to dump 4 to 6 inches of rain with isolated amounts of 8 inches.

It’s a forecast that worries many in Puerto Rico because blue tarps still cover some 30,000 homes nearly two years after Hurricane Maria. The island’s 3.2 million inhabitants also depend on an unstable power grid that remains prone to outages since it was deHURRICANE >> PAGE 8