Hurricane Maria is pummelling Puerto Rico, bringing “catastrophic” 155mph winds and dangerous storm surges, after battering the Virgin Islands.

The “monster” storm is one of the strongest to ever hit the US territory, with warnings that heavy rain could cause landslides and storm surges of up to 9ft that risk swamping low-lying areas.

Maria began lashing the US Virgin Island of St Croix early on Wednesday, as it continued to cut a deadly north-westerly path through the Caribbean.

It made landfall in Puerto Rico at 11.15am BST in the southeast coastal town of Yabucoa and is expected to punish the island with life-threatening winds for up to 24 hours.