Hurricane Dorian packing 75 mph winds targets U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico

Just two years since Hurricane Maria slammed Puerto Rico, Hurricane Dorian bears down on the island and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

As of 2 p.m. Tuesday, the center of Dorian was right on top of St. Thomas moving northwest at 13 mph. Originally it had targeted to slam into St. Croix, but jogged to the east when it was still categorized as a tropical storm. The Puerto Rican islands of Vieques and Culebra as well as the U.S. Virgin Islands and British Virgin Islands all remain under a hurricane warning.

Hurricane-force winds extend out 20 miles with tropical storm force winds out to 80 miles.

The storm is expected to grow in strength to become as large as a Category 3 strength hurricane before threatening landfall on Florida by Monday.

While the path isn't bringing the storm right over Puerto Rico's mainland, the island territory will still be tested since Hurricane Maria struck on Sept. 20, 2017. Maria left most of Puerto Rico without power and was initially blamed for 64 deaths, but that number, including fatalities from the months of post-hurricane recovery, was estimated to be more than 4,600, based on data in a Harvard University study released in 2018.

President Donald Trump declared an emergency Tuesday night and ordered federal assistance for local authorities.

"It's possible it could turn into a hurricane before it reaches Puerto Rico," said Roberto Garcu00eda, director of U.S. National Weather Service San Juan, during a press conference on Wednesday.

While Maria was a Category 4 hurricane, even at tropical storm strength, Dorian could threaten both Puerto Rico and the U.S. and nearby British Virgin Islands with landslides, widespread flooding and power outages.

The storm was expected to dump 4 to 6 inches of rain with isolated amounts of 8 inches.

It's a forecast that worries many in Puerto Rico because blue tarps still cover some 30,000 homes nearly two years after Hurricane Maria. The island's 3.2 million inhabitants also depend on an unstable power grid that remains prone to outages since it was destroyed by Maria.

Ramonita Torres, a thin, stooped, 74-year-old woman lives by herself in the impoverished, flood-prone neighborhood of Las Monjas in the capital of San Juan. She was still trying to rebuild the home she nearly lost after Maria but was not able to secure the pieces of zinc that now serve as her roof.

"There's no money for that," she said, shaking her head.

Dorian earlier had been projected to brush the western part of the U.S. territory and the change in the storm's course caught many off guard in the tiny island of Vieques just east of Puerto Rico, a popular tourist destination that now lies in Dorian's path.

"I'm in shock," Vilma Santana said in a phone interview, adding that she's relieved it's not a hurricane. "Thank God it's a storm."

Trump sent a tweet assuring that "We are tracking closely tropical storm Dorian as it heads, as usual, to Puerto Rico. FEMA and all others are ready, and will do a great job."

He added a jab at Puerto Rican officials who have accused the government of a slow and inadequate response to Hurricane Maria: "When they do, let them know it, and give them a big Thank You - Not like last time. That includes from the incompetent Mayor of San Juan!"

The mayor, Carmen Yulu00edn Cruz, tweeted that Trump needs to "calm down get out of the way and make way for those of us who are actually doing the work on the ground," adding that maybe he "will understand this time around THIS IS NOT ABOUT HIM; THIS IS NOT ABOUT POLITICS; THIS IS ABOUT SAVING LIVES."

Dorian earlier caused power outages and downed trees in Barbados and St. Lucia.

Although top government officials in Puerto Rico said they were prepared for the storm and had sufficient equipment, a couple of mayors, including those in the western region, said they did not have enough generators or shelters that were properly set up.

Josu00e9 Ortiz, executive director of Puerto Rico's Electric Power Authority, acknowledged that the distribution system still has weak areas and could "suffer" under winds of 50 to 60 mph. However, he stressed the agency has the needed inventory, including more than 120,000 lights, 23,000 poles and 7,400 transformers.

But Freddyson Martu00ednez, vice president of a power workers' union, told The Associated Press that while the electric grid has improved in some areas, he worries about a lack of power line workers and post-Maria patches which feature lines affixed to palm trees.

The island's transportation secretary acknowledged that crews are still rebuilding roads damaged or blocked by Maria, more than 1,000 of which remain blocked by that storm's landslides.

Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vu00e1zquez urged those living in flood-prone areas or under a blue tarp to move into one of the island's 360 shelters.

Officials also said public schools and government offices would remain closed through at least Thursday.

"We learned our lesson quite well after Maria," Vu00e1zquez said. "We are going to be much better prepared."

In the U.S. Virgin Islands, which is still struggling to recover from hurricanes Irma and Maria, Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. closed schools and government offices and said he would implement a curfew until Thursday, adding that officials would soon open more shelters and were preparing sandbags in all three islands.

"The main threat in this storm is the water," he said in a conference call early Wednesday. "We still have a lot of vulnerable people in the territory."

Some 1,000 customers in St. Croix and dozens in St. Thomas and St. John were already without power on Wednesday.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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