According to the National Hurricane Center, Hurricane Gloria hit Puerto Rico at 4:20 p.m. with gusts of 85 mph.
The hurricane is already generating catastrophic flooding as it advances west of Puerto Rico and toward the Dominican Republic.
The two countries may experience catastrophic flash and urban floods from these rains, coupled with mudslides and landslides in regions with higher elevation, according to the hurricane centre.
Early on Sunday, when the Category 1 storm approached the islands, all Puerto Rico lost power.
The Governor of Puerto Rico confirmed the widespread outage, adding that the whole electric system was down and that the appropriate procedures had been engaged to restore electricity.
Satellite imagery also showed an unusual intensity of sprite lightning as the hurricane approached Puerto Rico.
