Hurricane Maria Path & Track Update 2017: Puerto Rican Governor Urges Citizens To Move To Shelters ASAP
Hurricane Maria continues to gather strength as it approaches Puerto Rico, but citizens still have enough time to take refuge in government-run shelters before the Category 5 hurricane ransack the country according to Gov. Ricardo Rossello.
In an interview with CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360," Rossello mentioned that those who could be affected by the upcoming weather disturbance still have time to move to a shelter although he warned them that they have to move fast.
The latest hurricane that is crashing the Caribbean is predicted to make its presence felt in the Virgin Islands by Tuesday night and is expected to make a landfall in Puerto Rico by Wednesday morning.
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As of 11 p.m. on Sept. 19, Hurricane Maria has a maximum sustained wind of 175 mph and moves towards the direction of West Northwest at 10 mph based on the latest update from the National Hurricane Center (NHC).
In a separate interview with CBS, the governor mentioned that the island nation can possibly feel the destruction of the upcoming storm.
"This is going to impact all of Puerto Rico with a force and violence that we haven't seen for several generations," Rossello also stated. "We're going to lose a lot of infrastructure in Puerto Rico. We're going to have to rebuild."
The governor also said that Puerto Rico currently has 500 government-run evacuation shelters that can accommodate up to 133,000 people during a calamity. He also stated that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is capable of bringing drinking water to the shelters and help in the restoration of electric powers immediately after the storm.
Hurricane Maria could be the second Category 5 hurricane to hit Puerto Rico in recorded history if it continues to maintain its current strength. According to a report, the first one happened back in 1928.
Meanwhile, Maria will possibly follow the path of Hurricane Jose and avoid hitting Mainland USA. Yet it may be close enough to the country to have an effect on the Outer Banks like New England.
