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Maria levels entire towns, leaves Puerto Rico without power

Two girls play on cots at Humacao Arena refugee center in Puerto Rico Tuesday while waiting for the imminent impact of Maria. Photo: Carlos Giusti / AP

Hurricane Maria slammed into Puerto Rico just after 6:15 a.m. this morning as a Category 4 storm with sustained winds of 155mph. It has since been downgraded to a Category 2 with winds at 110mph off the northwest coast of Puerto Rico. Homes are flooding and power lines have been downed across the entire island. Officials predict entire towns will have to be rebuilt.

Maria is the most powerful hurricane to threaten the region in almost 90 years.

Up next: The Dominican Republic is expected to experience hurricane conditions soon and Maria is expected to move to the Turks and Caicos Islands and to the southeastern Bahamas Thursday morning.

The latest:

  • The governor of Puerto Rico, Ricardo Rosello, implemented a curfew, 6pm-6am effective Wednesday to Saturday.
  • One of Puerto Rico's biggest shelters lost its roof, according to witness accounts. More than 500 shelters were opened, per Rosello.
  • At least 7 have died from the hurricane in Dominica. 2 reportedly died on the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe. The U.S. Virgin Islands Operations Center said it was too dangerous to check on St. Croix residents.

Go deeper: Caribbean islands leveled by back-to-back hurricanes

Go deeper

Margaret Harding McGill
2 hours ago - Technology

The startup that wants to disrupt big internet providers

Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios

A new startup backed by funding from AOL founder Steve Case and Laurene Powell Jobs wants to break up broadband monopolies across the country.

Why it matters: Internet access has been crucial during the pandemic, but it's not ubiquitous, and it can be both slow and unaffordable in swaths of the country.

Go deeper (3 min. read)Arrow
Zachary Basu
2 hours ago - World

Top general: China's hypersonic missile test "very close" to a "Sputnik moment"

Gen. Mark Milley. Photo: Rod Lamkey-Pool/Getty Images

Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned Wednesday that China's test of a hypersonic missile is "very concerning" and "very close" to the kind of "Sputnik moment" that triggered the Space Race during the Cold War.

Why it matters: The comments by America's top uniformed general underscore the depths of U.S. concerns about China's rapid military expansion and development of advanced weaponry.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Andrew Freedman
3 hours ago - Energy & Environment

Climate reckoning for oil and gas CEOs

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Top executives from ExxonMobil, BP, Chevron and Shell will face a reckoning on Capitol Hill Thursday, as they're grilled on evidence that their companies knew for years that their products were driving climate change but chose to downplay or deny it.

Why it matters: The hearing before the House Oversight Committee will be the first time these executives have been brought together to provide sworn testimony regarding what they knew about the ties between their company's products and climate change, and when they knew it.

Go deeper (2 min. read)Arrow