Hurricane Maria’s eye passed over Puerto Rico hours ago, but early reports and footage from the island indicate that the worst may be yet to come. The dangerous storm, which hit land as a Category 4, has left the entire island—nearly 3.5 million people—without electricity, according to a number of outlets.
As evening approaches, residents and visitors will be left to assess the damage in the dark or wait until daylight. The National Weather Service has issued flash flood warnings for several municipalities that are expected to last until 9 p.m. The NWS also warned that the driving rain could cause mudslides. So far, one Puerto Rican mayor said that 80 percent of the buildings in his city were destroyed, according to BuzzFeed News.
Videos have been shared on social media of the torrential downpour and flooding. One Twitter user who uploaded video from the storm said that the flooding was on “another level.”
The storm made landfall this morning with gusts at 155 mph. Leyla Santiago had the unfortunate responsibility of being CNN’s designated on-scene reporter and was nearly blown away by the violent winds.
Residents of Puerto Rico took to shelters around the island Tuesday to hunker down for the storm. The storm has already claimed nine lives so far as it barrels through the Caribbean and is the strongest storm to hit Puerto Rico in nearly 90 years, according to NBC News.
These aerial images posted by CNN show the devastation Maria wrought on the island of Dominica:
San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz told MSNBC that the devastation in the capital was unlike any she had ever seen: “Half of San Juan is flooded at this point.”
“We’re looking at four to six months without electricity,” she said. As of right now, forecasters predict that Maria could bring up to 25 inches of rain to Puerto Rico and another 16 inches to the U.S. Virgin Islands, which are still reeling from Hurricane Irma.