Hurricane Maria strengthened into a “potentially catastrophic” Category Five storm as it barrelled into eastern Caribbean islands still reeling from Irma, forcing residents to evacuate in powerful winds and lashing rain. The maximum-strength storm made landfall on the Caribbean island of Dominica around 0115 GMT Tuesday with top winds swirling at 257km per hour, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. Guadeloupe — the bridgehead for aid for Irma-hit French territories — ordered all residents to take shelter in a maximum-level “violet alert” effective from 8:00 pm as powerful rains drenched the French Caribbean island. Hurricane seriesIrma, a Category 5 hurricane, left around 40 people dead in the Caribbean before churning west and pounding Florida, where the death toll stood at 50 Monday. Another hurricane, Jose, is also active in the Atlantic and has triggered tropical storm warnings for the northeastern United States.

Source: Dhaka Tribune September 19, 2017 04:07 UTC