Martinique Escapes Brunt of Hurricane Maria, Guadeloupe Takes Lashing
A picture taken on Sept. 19, 2017 shows the powerful winds and rains of hurricane Maria battering the city of Petit-Bourg on the French overseas Caribbean island of Guadeloupe.
Hurricane Maria strengthened into a "potentially catastrophic" Category Five storm as it barrelled into eastern Caribbean islands still reeling from Irma, forcing residents to evacuate in powerful winds and lashing rain. CEDRIK-ISHAM CALVADOS/AFP/Getty Images
The French island of Martinique escaped Hurricane Maria largely unscathed but a communications blackout with Guadeloupe meant it would be several more hours before damage there could be assessed, a senior French Civil Protection official said on Tuesday.
Maria, the second major storm to hit the Caribbean this month, lashed Guadeloupe’s southern shores as it tracked northwest toward the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
