Hurricane Maria - One dead and two missing as storm hits Guadeloupe
ONE person was killed and two are missing after Hurricane Maria battered Guadeloupe.
Guadaloupe has been battered by Hurricane Maria
Officials on the island said the victim was killed by a falling tree.
It is the first confirmed casualty from the huge storm sweeping the eastern Caribbean.
Two people were reported missing after their boat sank off Desirade, the easternmost island in the French territory's archipelago.
Hurricane Maria causes river like floods in Guadeloupe
Officials said the victim ignore warnings to stay inside has powerful winds and heavy rains lashed the island.
They said "several floods have been signalled" around Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe's largest city.
Coastal areas around the capital Basse-Terre have also been "submerged".
Nasa satellite photos show Hurricane Maria over Guadeloupe
A spokesman said: ”All of the archipelago's road networks have been affected by falling trees or branches.
“Little damage to buildings had been reported so far though some roofs have been ripped off.”
Authorities said 40 per cent of households in the territory of some 400,000 had no electricity, and 25 per cent of landlines had been cut.
The US National Hurricane Centre described Maria as "potentially catastrophic" as it pushed northwest towards the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
Officials on Guadeloupe have reported felled trees and flooding
The Category 5 storm has wreaked havoc on Guadeloupe after making landfall late on Monday less than two weeks after the small Caribbean island was hit by Hurricane Irma.
Images and video of the devastation show the island swamped by floodwater after massive rainfalls.
Footage showed Guadeloupe’s most populated community, the Abymes, under water.