Puerto Rico In Blackout, Hundreds Of Properties Devastated After Hurricane Maria

Torrential rains continued in Puerto Rico early Thursday as Hurricane Maria moved away from the island, after destroying hundreds of homes and knocking out power for most of its 3.4 million residents. The storm was approaching the eastern portion of the Dominican Republic, on its way to Turks and Caicos, the National Hurricane Center reported. Maria’s core was about 70 miles north of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, with wind gusts of 110 miles per hour, the hurricane center wrote in its 5 a.m. ET Thursday advisory. Maria weakened to a Category 2 storm Wednesday evening, but regained major hurricane status by Thursday.