Puerto Rico endured a day of punishing winds and life-threatening flooding on Wednesday from Hurricane Maria, which was the third hurricane to pummel the Caribbean in as many weeks.



Maria, now a category 3 storm with winds of 115 mph, is currently about 55 miles north of the Dominican Republic. It previously hit the islands of Dominica, Guadeloupe and the US territory of St Croix, where Donald Trump has declared a major disaster.

Described as “extremely dangerous”, the storm hit Dominica as a category 5 hurricane, bringing fierce rain and maximum sustained winds of 155mph (250km/h).