Hurricane Maria rocks Puerto Rico as island's strongest storm in modern history

[NelsonG]

(Note: This story will be updated throughout the day as the storm moves across Puerto Rico.)

Hurricane Maria, one of the 10 most intense storms on record in the Atlantic Ocean basin, roared ashore in southeastern Puerto Rico, near Yabucoa, at 6:15 a.m. ET. 

It hit the island as a powerful Category 4 storm, with maximum sustained winds of 155 miles per hour, down somewhat from its peak of 175 miles per hour on Tuesday night. 

This is the most intense storm to make landfall in Puerto Rico since at least the San Ciprian Hurricane of 1932, which was also a Category 4. The storm is likely to inflict its greatest damage to the communities along its southeastern shore, including Yabucoa, where inundation of 6 to 9 feet above normally dry ground is likely from the combination of storm surge flooding and high, battering waves.  Read more...

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