Maria intensifies to rare Category 5 hurricane in Caribbean

Hurricane Maria is shown in the Atlantic Ocean about 137km east of Martinique in this Sept 17, 2017 NASA satellite photo.

PONCE, Puerto Rico: The fourth major Atlantic hurricane of the year, Maria, strengthened into a rare Category 5 storm, as it churned through the eastern Caribbean, bearing down on the tiny island nation of Dominica while on a likely collision course with the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

Update: Maximum-strength Hurricane Maria makes landfall in Dominica