According to the Governor of Puerto Rico, Maria is set to hit the land around 8 am local time (1300 GMT).

The storm is moving along the same track as Irma, the season's first category five hurricane, which battered the Caribbean island of Dominica.

Maria has weakened to category four a few days ago, but has picked up pace since, sustaining winds upto 280km/h (175mph).

The hurricane is expected to deter the rescue operations initiated after the devastation caused by Irma.

Experts fear that heavy rains might cause landslides in some areas, while low lying zones are expected to get inundated.

Image: Screengrab from BBC