Maria an ‘extremely dangerous’ Category Four hurricane: US forecaster

Maria rose in power Monday to become an “extremely dangerous” Category Four hurricane as it barreled toward the Caribbean island of Dominica, the US National Hurricane Center said. “The eye and the intense inner core is expected to pass near Dominica in the next few hours,” the Miami-based NHC said in its 2100 GMT bulletin. Maria, coming two weeks after Hurricane Irma cut a path of destruction through the Caribbean, was 45 miles (70 kilometers) southeast of Dominica, an island of about 72,000 people whose official language is English and where many also speak Creole French. Located 35 miles northeast of the French island of Martinique, Maria was packing winds of 130 miles per hour and was now “an extremely dangerous Category Four hurricane,” the NHC said. “Additional strengthening is forecast during the next 24 to 36 hours, and Maria is expected to be an extremely dangerous major hurricane during the next couple of days.”