Not long after Hurricane Irma hit Florida and the Caribbean, another threat is said to be looming. Recent reports have confirmed that Hurricane Maria could intensify into a Category 4 hurricane in just 48 hours, and will directly hit the calamity-stricken Caribbean islands once again.
The National Hurricane Center’s latest report cites that Maria continues to intensify as it becomes a major hurricane like Irma. Impending calamity is expected to bring “dangerous wind, storm surge and rainfall hazards" when it makes its landfall.
British and US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico at risk
The National Hurricane Center also released a warning for residents of affected areas, most especially for the British and US Virgin Islands, as well as Puerto Rico. According to their report, Hurricane Maria is set to unleash torrential rainfall, potentially dumping six to twelve inches of rain.
Residents of nearby islands, St. Maarten/St. Martin, St. Barthelemy and Anguilla, are also advised to prepare for the worst as the dangerous hurricane is set to wreak havoc mid-week. Communities have yet to recuperate after Irma’s devastating destruction earlier this month, claiming 44 lives along the way.
Hurricane Jose follows suit
Apart from the calamity that is Hurricane Maria is threatening to bring, another hurricane is just trailing behind.
According to verified sources, Hurricane Jose is set to bring immediate threat which includes beach erosion, rip currents, and heavy rain to the US mainland, mainly in North Carolina, Massachusetts, and parts of New York, Philadelphia, and Washington.
Jose is currently a Category 1 Hurricane with sustained winds of 90 mph. It is expected to weaken to a tropical storm, then to a tropical depression as it moves northeast then southeast.
Hurricane Jose and Maria are among the thirteen named Atlantic storms in 2017. Two of the previous hurricanes- Harvey and Irma- have collectively caused millions in damages, and have claimed the lives of at least 100 people.
Still in ‘survival mode’ after Irma
Tortola, the largest of the British Virgin Islands, has yet to see the rainbow after Irma’s intense onslaught.
British foreign secretary Boris Johnson claimed that the destruction caused by the recent calamity was “absolutely hellish.” A devastating 80% of Tortola’s buildings have been destroyed and damaged.
Residents have started to pick up the pieces of what Irma has left behind, but they have a long way to go. In a report from The Guardian, one resident even claimed that they are still in “survival mode,” and are “still reacting” to their current predicament.
