Hurricane Maria was battering the Dominican Republic this morning in its deadly tear across the Caribbean — as the long-term devastation in Puerto Rico was just coming into focus.
The Category 3 storm whipped 115-miles per hour winds as it left torrential rain in the Dominican Republic, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.
Maria was likely to strengthen over warm water as it headed toward the Turks and Caicos, endangering low-lying islands with enormous storm surges.
But Maria’s wrath was far from ended in Puerto Rico. Dozens of families were rescued from flooding this morning in Levittown, near the capital city of San Juan, a spokeswoman for the Puerto Rican governor tweeted.
The Puerto Rican National Guard was still searching for others in need of rescue, she said.
But the task was hampered by a power outage that covered the entire island nation of 3.4 million people — with officials saying it may be several months before Puerto Ricans get electricity back.
