SAN JUAN: Puerto Rico faced Wednesday what officials said could be the strongest hurricane to ever hit the US territory as they warned it would decimate the power company’s crumbling infrastructure and force the government to rebuild dozens of communities. Maria barreled toward the island with 155 mph (250 kph) winds and was expected to make landfall Wednesday midmorning along Puerto Rico’s southeast coast as a Category 4 storm, punishing the island with life-threatening winds for 12 to 24 hours, forecasters said. Maria had previously been a Category 5 storm with 175 mph (281 kph) winds. “This is going to be an extremely violent phenomenon,” Gov. Ricardo Rossello said. “We have not experienced an event of this magnitude in our modern history.” The number of power outages spiked as Maria approached, with the storm centered early Wednesday about 50 miles (75 kilometers) southeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico, and moving northwest at 10 mph (17 kph), according to the US National Hurricane Center in Miami. Maria ties for the eighth strongest storm in Atlantic history, when measured by wind speed. Coming in second is this year’s Irma, which had 185 mph (300 kph) winds and killed 38 people in the Caribbean and another 36 in the US earlier this month. Puerto Rico had long been spared from a direct hit by hurricanes that tend to veer north or south of the island. The last Category 4 hurricane landfall in Puerto Rico occurred in 1932, and the strongest storm to ever hit the island was San Felipe in 1928 with winds of 160 mph. As Maria approached, US President Donald Trump offered his support via Twitter: “Puerto Rico being hit hard by new monster Hurricane. Be careful, our hearts are with you- will be there to help!” More than 4,400 people were in shelters by late Tuesday, along with 105 pets, Rossello said. The storm’s center passed near or over St. Croix overnight Tuesday, prompting US Virgin Islands Gov. Kenneth Mapp to insist that people remain alert. St. Croix was largely spared the widespread damage caused by Hurricane Irma on the chain’s St. Thomas and St. John islands just two weeks ago. But this time, the island would experience five hours of hurricane force winds, Mapp said. “For folks in their homes, I really recommend that you not be in any kind of sleepwear,” he said during a brief news conference. “Make sure you have your shoes on. Make sure you have a jacket around. Something for your head in case your roof should breach. … I don’t really recommend you be sleeping from 11 o’clock to 4 (a.m.). … Be aware of what’s going on around you.” Maria killed one person in the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe when a tree fell on them Tuesday, and two people aboard a boat were reported missing off La Desirade island, just east of Guadeloupe, officials said. Published in Daily Times, September 21st 2017.