美国国家飓风中心说，风暴风眼的外缘横扫圣克罗伊岛，玛利亚的最高持续风速约每小时280公里。气象预报说，风暴带来的暴雨会引发危及生命的洪水和山体滑坡。

美国国家飓风中心说，玛利亚“可能是灾难性的”，估计会保持在危险的四到五级飓风的水平，星期三晚间飓风中心将直击波多黎各。

波多黎各总督罗赛罗说，“重大破坏难以避免”，政府官员已经设立了500个庇护所。

美国总统川普已经宣布波多黎各和美属维京群岛进入紧急状态，并授权国土安全部和联邦紧急事务管理署协调救灾。

Hurricane Maria pounded the U.S. Virgin Islands late Tuesday and into Wednesday on its way to Puerto Rico.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said the outer edge of the storm's eye was lashing the island of St. Croix as Maria carried maximum sustained winds of about 280 kilometers per hour and rains that forecasters say will cause life-threatening flash floods and landslides.

The NHC said the storm is "potentially catastrophic" and is expected to remain a dangerous Category 4 or 5 hurricane as its center goes directly across Puerto Rico by Wednesday night.

Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello said "major damage is inevitable" in the U.S. territory and that officials had set up 500 shelters.

U.S. President Donald Trump has issued state-of-emergency declarations for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and authorized the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate all relief efforts.