The Caribbean island nation Dominica took a direct hit overnight from Hurricane Maria, after the storm rapidly strengthened into a Category 5 hurricane capable of bringing life-threatening storm surge and flooding rains.
Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit wrote on Facebook that initial reports indicate "widespread devastation."
"So far we have lost all what money can buy and replace. My greatest fear for the morning is that we will wake up to news of serious physical injury and possible deaths as a result of likely landslides triggered by persistent rains," Skerrit said.
He added that the focus is on finding people injured or trapped in rubble.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Maria had maximum sustained winds early Tuesday of about 250 kilometers per hour. The center of the storm was slowly moving away from Dominica and past the southern coast of Guadaloupe, while bands of strong winds and rain extended to many areas in the Leeward Islands and Lesser Antilles.
The National Hurricane Center expects the eye of Hurricane Maria to approach the U.S. Virgin Islands by late Tuesday as an "extremely dangerous major hurricane," and to cross over Puerto Rico on Wednesday.
U.S. President Donald Trump has declared a state of emergency for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and authorized Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to coordinate all relief efforts.
加勒比海岛国多米尼加星期一夜间受到飓风玛丽亚重创。此前，玛丽亚迅速成长为5级飓风，可能造成危及生命的巨浪和暴雨。
多米尼加总理罗斯福·斯凯里特在脸书上说，初步报道显示，飓风造成“大面积破坏”。
斯凯里特说：“到目前为止，我们的损失还是金钱可以弥补的，我最害怕的是一觉醒来，会有消息说，持续降雨造成山体滑坡，导致了严重的人员受伤甚至死亡。”
他补充说，当务之急是找到受伤或是被困在废墟里的人。
美国国家飓风中心说，玛丽亚星期二早上最高持续风力约每小时250公里，风暴中心正缓慢离开多米尼加，途经瓜达卢佩岛南部海岸，狂风和暴雨横扫背风群岛和小安的列斯群岛大片地区。
国家飓风中心预计，玛丽亚飓风风眼星期二晚上将直扑美属维京群岛，是“极其危险的重要飓风”，星期三穿过波多黎各。
美国总统川普已经宣布，波多黎各和美属维京群岛为紧急状态，授权国土安全部和联邦紧急事务管理署协调救灾努力。