Recently, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands were plagued by the arrival of Hurricane Maria, the storm that continues to gain strength until today. The category 5 storm first terrorized the island of Dominica in the Caribbean and has since made its way towards different places.

As revealed by the Los Angeles Times, San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz said that those living in high-risk areas or unstable homes must evacuate to the shelters run by the government. Cruz said that now is not the time to wait for the storm to destroy their homes and that now is also the time for people to accept what is really happening.

Cruz was at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum when she said this. The coliseum served as the shelter for more than 500 evacuees. She continued to say that the storm will probably shut down communications and there is a chance that the storm could also leave the city with a population of 400,000, without power for months.

Cruz said that they will try to keep in touch with the outside world as long as possible. According to the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Hurricane Maria is packing sustained winds of almost 175 miles per hour. The eye of Hurricane Maria is 10 miles wide and the storm is predicted to move closer to St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands before crossing over to Puerto Rico.

As of now, Hurricane Maria has arrived at the Virgin Islands and is expected to move to Puerto Rico in a matter of hours as told by The Guardian. Dominica attorney general Levi Peter said that there have been a few fatal casualties when Hurricane Maria hit the country. Unfortunately, it became impossible to verify as communications with officials in Dominica remain down. Peter also said that there is a chance that the body count will increase as the storm goes on.