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Hurricane Maria delivered a direct and ferocious hit to the Caribbean island of Dominica over the course of Monday night, pulverizing the island with the full force of the elements.

SEE ALSO:Hurricane Maria rapidly intensifies, aims for a rare, devastating direct hit on Puerto Rico

Satellite imagery depicted the hurricane engulfing the island, which struck with sustained winds of 160 miles per hour after intensifying from a Category 1 to a Category 5 in less than 24 hours.

Maria is the only Category 5 storm to have struck Dominica on record.

The commonwealth's prime minister, Roosevelt Skerrit, delivered a harrowing report from his own battered home, detailing "mind-boggling" and "widespread devastation."

The National Hurricane Center is warning of a "life-threatening" storm surge for all of the Leeward Islands, the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. And now, images of the storm's power are beginning to emerge.

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The French Caribbean island Guadeloupe was also in the direct path of the storm. Residents of Pointe-à-Pitre weathered flooding, winds, rain, and widespread damage.

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Hurricane Maria is striking some of the same areas affected by Hurricane Irma just last week, such as the islands of St. Maarten and St. Lucia.

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Maria is also sweeping across the Caribbean as Hurricane Jose travels north off the coast of the Northeastern United States.

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Maria is expected to reach Puerto Rico, to which many Caribbean island evacuees have fled, on Wednesday. If it sustains its Category 5 status, it will be the first storm of that magnitude to hit the island since 1928.