Recovery

Winds were lashing the island, toppling trees and sparking flash-flood warnings in the territory’s capital. Maria weakened slightly as it approached the island but its sustained winds remained at 155 mph, still a monster Category 4 storm, when it struck.

The temblor caused buildings to sway violently in the center of Mexico City, including in the historic districts of El Centro and Roma.

Maria made landfall in Dominica with 160 mph winds that stripped roofs, including the prime minister’s.

One of the new center's primary missions is to help businesses get short-term emergency loans, or bridge loans.

'The system looks to be close enough for potential impacts, including tropical storm force winds, coastal flooding, and locally heavy rainfall.'

The Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster group met Monday to discuss how to address this issue and what the community still needs in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.

'It's really about making sure that all the necessary folks are in the room that need to handle a situation.'

Hurricane Irma’s destructive floodwaters renewed fears about how to manage the state’s population boom as the risks of climate change intensify. Rising sea levels and spreading flood plains have magnified the vulnerabilities.

Maria is forecast to become a major hurricane today, and by Wednesday the storm is forecast to become a Category 4 hurricane.

The storm — which Combs said could grow to a Category 3 hurricane — is expected to be near Puerto Rico by Wednesday night.

With Jose about 500 miles south of Bermuda, the National Hurricane Center on Friday warned of the potential for “direct impacts next week along portions of the East Coast.

NEMA, IAEM combine efforts to provide situational awareness to public and private partners.

While wind damage was the culprit of much of the damage across the state, Hurricane Irma’s storm surge and accompanying rain caused serious flooding throughout coastal counties at a severity worse than Hurricane Matthew less than a year before.

Some ways to prepare a family communication plan include having a designated plan of contact, and have that name and number written down and in a safe place like a wallet.

'We really need a whole new scheme. Hopefully, this will be a wake-up call.'