Really Maria - Modern Hurricane Maria: A Normative CriticismHurricane Maria is considered the worst natural disaster on record in Dominica and Puerto Rico. The tenth most intense Atlantic hurricane on record and the world's most intense tropical cyclone in 2017, Maria was the th named storm, the eighth consecutive hurricane, the fourth major hurricane, the second Category 5 hurricane, and the deadliest storm in the hyperactive 2017 Atlantic hurricane season. At its peak, the hurricane caused catastrophic damage and numerous deaths in the northeastern Caribbean, complicating recovery efforts in areas of the Leeward Islands already hit by Hurricane Irma. Maria is the third consecutive major hurricane to threaten the Leeward Islands in two weeks. after Irma made landfall on several islands two weeks earlier and Hurricane Jose passed dangerously close, bringing tropical storm force winds to Barbuda. Maria is also the third costliest tropical cyclone on record, totaling around $100 billion in damage; only Hurricanes Katrina and Harvey from earlier in the season inflicted more damage, respectively. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Originating as a tropical wave, Maria became a tropical storm on September 16, Lesser Antilles eTast. Very favorable environmental conditions allowed the storm to experience explosive intensification as it approached the island arc. The hurricane reached Category 5 strength on September 18, just before making landfall on Dominica, becoming the first Category 5 hurricane on record to hit the island. After weakening slightly due to crossing Dominica, Maria reached peak intensity in the eastern Caribbean with maximum sustained winds of 175 mph and a pre 908 mbar, making it the tenth Atlantic hurricane the most intense ever recorded. On September 20, a cycle of eyewall replacement took place, weakening Maria, a high-end Category 4 hurricane as it struck Puerto Rico. Interaction with land further weakened the hurricane, although it regained some strength as it moved northeast of the Bahamas. Slowly moving northward, Maria gradually deteriorated and weakened into a tropical storm on September 28, embedded in westerly winds. Maria accelerated eastward, then east-northwestward over the Atlantic, becoming extratropical on September 30 and dissipating on October 3. As of November 20, at least 517 people have been killed by the hurricane: 499 in Puerto Rico. 31 in Dominica, 5 in the Dominican Republic, 4 in the contiguous United States, 3 in Haiti, 2 in Guadeloupe. and 3 in the US Virgin Islands. Dozens of other people, mainly in Dominica and Puerto Rico, remain missing. The death toll in Puerto Rico is believed to be far higher than the official toll of 58, with estimates of actual losses ranging from 500 to more than 1,000. Maria caused catastrophic damage to all of Dominica, which suffered an island-wide communications outage. Much of the housing stock and infrastructure was beyond repair, while the island's lush vegetation had been virtually eradicated. The island of Guadeloupe and Martinique suffered widespread flooding, damaged roofs and uprooted trees. Puerto Rico suffered catastrophic damage, including the destruction of its previously damaged power grid. For weeks following Maria, most of the island's population was,.