by Donald Wood
Last updated: 12:00 PM ET, Thu September 21, 2017
After leaving all of Puerto Rico without power Wednesday, Hurricane Maria moved onto the Dominican Republic Thursday.
According to ABCNews.com, Hurricane Maria lost some of its power as it crossed Puerto Rico, but it once again strengthened into a Category 3 storm with sustained winds are near 115 miles per hour. The National Hurricane Center said the storm could continue strengthening during the next day or so.
Hurricane Maria passed near Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, Thursday and is moving at around nine miles per hour to the northwest. The storm is expected to move toward the Turks and Caicos Islands before reaching the Bahamas Thursday evening.
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Moving forward, Maria is expected to turn north Sunday and likely avoid the United States, but forecasters admit it's too early to determine whether it will impact the U.S. mainland.
In total, at least 10 people in the Caribbean were killed by Hurricane Maria.
[READMORE]READ MORE: Full Report on Extensive Caribbean Recovery[/READMORE]
As the hurricane continues to carve a path of destruction through the Caribbean, airlines serving the region have canceled flights and are asking passengers with scheduled flights to or from impacted islands to check their flight status. Officials from Delta Air Lines have announced that service to several islands will begin once again Thursday, bringing aid to the region and helping transport locals and support teams, according to The Dallas Morning News.
For travelers scheduled to cruise through the Caribbean in the coming days, cruise lines like Carnival and Royal Caribbean have issued itinerary changes for several sailings over the coming weeks. Customers are being asked to check with their cruise lines for updates on their voyages.
More Hurricane Maria Coverage
More Cruise Line Changes
TravelPulse's Janeen Christoff took an in-depth look at how cruise lines serving the Caribbean were preparing for the incoming Hurricane Maria.
Hurricane Maria's Projected Path
TravelPulse Canada has an article looking at the projected path of the storm and the islands which could potentially be in the most trouble.
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