Puerto Rican Official Warns Residents About Severity of Hurricane Maria

09/18/2017 10:52 pm EDT

Hurricane Maria intensified into a Category 5 storm on Monday as it barrels its way through the islands in the eastern Caribbean.

The storm's eye is expected to pass near Dominica on Monday night and then hit many of the islands Hurricane Irma destroyed on Tuesday. There is a possibility that Puerto Rico will be hit on Wednesday, according to the Boston Globe.

''We should treat the approaching hurricane very, very seriously,'' Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit of Dominica warned. ''This much water in Dominica is dangerous.''

Authorities in the islands are asking people to remain indoors and prepare for power outages and a cut in water supply.

However, Puerto Rico's official had a more intense warning for his residents. He told people with wooden or flimsy homes to find shelter at a different location.

''You have to evacuate. Otherwise you're going to die,'' said Hector Pesquera, Puerto Rico's public safety commissioner. ''I don't know how to make this any clearer.''

The National Hurricane Center in Miami said winds could get up to 160 miles per hour. ''Maria is developing the dreaded pinhole eye,'' the center warned.

Hurricane warnings were posted for the US and British Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Guadeloupe, Dominica, St. Kitts, Nevis and Montserrat. A tropical storm warning was issued for Antigua and Barbuda, Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Maarten, St. Lucia, Martinique, and Anguilla.

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