Hurricane Maria Causes First Fatality on Caribbean Island

The first death caused by Hurricane Maria has been reported from the French island of Guadeloupe.

BREAKING: First death attributed to Hurricane Maria as officials report fatality on French island of Guadeloupe.

— The Associated Press (@AP) September 19, 2017

The Associated Press reported the tragic news on Tuesday. As of Monday, Maria was classified as a category 5 storm. It is currently moving through the Caribbean and has caused devastation in parts of Dominica and Puerto Rico, in addition to Guadeloupe.

"No generation has seen a hurricane like this since San Felipe II in 1928," Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló said, according to CNN. "This is an unprecedented atmospheric system."

Rosselló also explained to that the first responders would "not be available to help you once the winds reach 50 mph."

"We need to keep in mind that we must also protect the lives of these first responders. It's time to act and look for a safe place if you live in flood-prone areas or in wooden or vulnerable structures," Rosselló said.

"This is an event that will be damaging to the infrastructure, that will be catastrophic," Rosselló continued. "Our only focus right now should be to make sure we save lives."

At this time, Maria has already hit Dominica with 160 mph winds and caused "widespread devastation," Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said.

Much of Dominica was left in ruins overnight, along with the prime minister's house.

"So far we have lost all what money can buy and replace," Skerrit posted on Facebook on Tuesday.

His greatest fear was "news of serious physical injury and possible deaths as a result of likely landslides triggered by persistent rains."

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