Hurricane Maria lashed parts of the Dominican Republic’s northern coast Thursday morning, after devastating Puerto Rico. The storm brushed by the Dominican Republic as a Category 3, but was a Category 5 earlier this week.

Maria wreaked havoc in the Caribbean on the heels of Hurricane Irma, another Category 5 storm, which struck the region earlier this month.

The eye of the storm was situated between 40 and 90 miles away from Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, and taking a cue from Puerto Rico, the island is bracing for flooding. The National Hurricane Center said that storm could cause surges, with the tides four-to-six feet higher than normal.

The storm now heads north toward Turks and Caicos. Meteorologists fear that the storm could pick up strength.

Hurricane Maria made a direct hit on Puerto Rico Wednesday as a Category 4 and knocked out power for the entire island. Puerto Rico experienced winds of 155 mph, flooding and landslides.

“It is nothing short of a disaster,” Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló told CNN.

Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory with a population of about 3.4 million, is currently bankrupt and many of the island’s utilities were in disrepair before the devastating storm. Maria is the strongest storm to hit the island in decades. It dropped as many as 35 inches of rain in some parts of Puerto Rico.

Dominica also took a direct hit Monday night, when the storm was a Category 5. The island faced widespread destruction. The country’s prime minister, Roland Skerritt, had to be evacuated from his home and is now homeless according to a spokesperson for the politician.

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A man rides a motorcyle along a flooded street in Punta Cana, in the Dominican Republic, as Hurricane Maria approaches on September 20, 2017. The government of the Dominican Republic told people to stay home from their public and private sector jobs on Thursday, when the hurricane is expected to hit the island. Erika Santeslices/AFP/GETTY
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People drive along a flooded street in Punta Cana, in the Dominican Republic, as Hurricane Maria approaches on September 20, 2017. The government of the Dominican Republic told people to stay home from their public and private sector jobs on Thursday, when the hurricane is expected to hit the island. Erika Santeslices/AFP/GETTY
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A man rides a motorbike on the street before the arrival of the Hurricane Maria in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, September 20, 2017. Ricardo Rojas/REUTERS
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A woman with a flashlight illuminates her baby inside a shelter before the arrival of the Hurricane Maria in Punta Cana September 20, 2017. Ricardo Rojas/REUTERS
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A man tries to salvage a table belonging to his restaurant before the arrival of Hurricane Maria in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, September 20, 2017. Ricardo Rojas/REUTERS
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