Hurricane Maria inflicts 'overwhelming' devastation on Puerto Rico

Initial reports from Puerto Rico indicate that Hurricane Maria inflicted massive damage on the island with high winds, storm surge and hours of relentless rain.

Maria landed near Yabucoa on Puerto Rico's southeastern coast on Wednesday at 6:15 a.m. as a Category 4 storm with 155 mph winds, beginning a 10-hour siege. The entire island is without power and water. No sewage systems are operating. Wireless and cell services are down.

#islaverde #puertorico El mar está azotando la ciudad. Esto no lo subo para asustar, lo hago para crear conciencia y que todos ayudemos a Puerto Rico tras la secuela de este catastrófico huracán. La Isla siempre a dicho presente, siempre ha sido solidaria y hasta presente en las trincheras luchando por tu libertad. Sigamos orado y sigamos trabajando.

A post shared by Carlos Ponce (@poncecarlos1) on Sep 20, 2017 at 11:29am PDT

Estimates for the resumption of island-wide power service range from four to six months, according to Carmen Yulin Cruz, mayor of San Juan.

"Half of San Juan is flooded and the roads are all blocked. We have to clean the debris -- trees, limbs, broken lampposts, power lines -- before rescue vehicles can begin their work," she said in a live report on the Weather Channel.

"The devastation is overwhelming, but we will stand up again," she said.

Thousands of people sought refuge in more than 500 shelters overnight. The roof at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan began leaking during the night and people had to be moved to shelter under the facility's bleachers.