Updated Sept. 22, 2017, 11:55 a.m. EST
Hurricane Maria caused flooding in the Dominican Republic as it brushed past the country on Thursday after destroying buildings and knocking out power across the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico and St. Croix, according to Reuters.
Maria has killed at least 30 people and devastated several small islands, including St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Dominica.
Maria, now a Category 3 with sustained winds of up to 120 miles per hour (195 km per hour), was expected to pass near the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeastern Bahamas on Thursday night and Friday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
Officials in Puerto Rico were still assessing the damage after Maria slammed the island on Wednesday with winds of up to 155 mph (250 kph). Ranked a Category 4 storm near the top of the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale when it made landfall, it was the strongest hurricane to hit the island in nearly 90 years.
Maria was the strongest Puerto Rico landfall since the Category 5 San Felipe/Lake Okeechobee hurricane that hit in September 1928.
Prior to both Hurricane Irma and Maria, only four other Category 4 hurricanes had tracked within 75 miles of central Puerto Rico in historical records dating to the late 19th century.
Homes & businesses destroyed
The Weather Channel is reporting that Maria destroyed 80% of the homes in the Juana Matos neighborhood of the San Juan suburb of Cataño.
On Thursday, the National Guard were rescuing dozens of families from rooftops in flooded Levittown, east of San Juan.
U.S. President Donald Trump told re the storm "totally obliterated" the island, and that he planned to visit.
It could take half a year to restore power to the nearly 3.5 million people who live in Puerto Rico, according to NBC News.
The full extent of the damage from Maria is still unknown given that dozens of towns remained isolated and without communication, the AP reported.
Continue for more photos of Maria's destruction:
A completely ruined house is seen in El Negro community a day after the impact of Hurricane Maria, in Puerto Rico, Thursday, September 21, 2017. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti)
"Whats important is ones life" says Rufina Fernandez standing in front of her daughters ruined house while eating a coconut a day after the impact of Hurricane Maria, in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, Thursday, September 21, 2017. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti)
Locals help clear debris from a road after the passing of Hurricane Maria, in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, Thursday, September 21, 2017. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti)
Power lines are down after the impact of Hurricane Maria, which hit the eastern region of the island in Humacao, Puerto Rico, Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2017. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti)
A gift shop lies damaged on Cofrecito Beach after the crossing of Hurricane Maria over Bavaro, Dominican Republic, Thursday, Sept. 21, 2017. (AP Photo/Tatiana Fernandez)
People walk next to a gas station flooded and damaged by the impact of Hurricane Maria, which hit the eastern region of the island, in Humacao, Puerto Rico, Wednesday, September 20, 2017. The strongest hurricane to hit Puerto Rico in more than 80 years destroyed hundreds of homes, knocked out power across the entire island and turned some streets into raging rivers in an onslaught that could plunge the U.S. territory deeper into financial crisis. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti)
People walk through a flooded area after the impact of Hurricane Maria, which hit the eastern region of the island, in Humacao, Puerto Rico, Wednesday, September 20, 2017.
Rescue vehicles from the Emergency Management Agency stand trapped under an awning during the impact of Hurricane Maria, which hit the eastern region of the island, in Humacao, Puerto Rico, Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2017. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti)
Trees stand barren and debris lays on the roadside, caused by Hurricane Maria in Road Town, on the island of Tortola, in the British Virgin Islands, early Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2017. (AP Photo/Freeman Rogers)
A car dealership lays in disarray after the impact of Hurricane Maria, which hit the eastern region of the island, in Humacao, Puerto Rico, Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2017. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti)
Men cut a fallen tree after the crossing of Hurricane Maria over Bavaro, Dominican Republic, Thursday, Sept. 21, 2017. (AP Photo/Tatiana Fernandez)
Trees stripped of their foliage and damaged trucks stand at the principal entrance at the Emergency Management Agency during the impact of Hurricane Maria, which hit the eastern region of the island, in Humacao, Puerto Rico, Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2017. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti)
A home damaged by Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. (Photo: Bloomberg)
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