... aims for Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico

“I am honestly not preoccupied with physical damage at this time because it is devastating...indeed, mind-boggling," Prime Minister Skerrit told teleSUR.

The Prime Minister of Dominica Roosevelt Skerrit told teleSUR that his nation has been devastated by Hurricane Maria, while there has been one reported dead and two missing in Guadeloupe.

Skerrit said initial reports are indicative of "widespread devastation. So far, we have lost all that money can buy and replace."

But, the prime minister then said that his greatest fear was waking up to the "news of serious physical injury and possible deaths as a result of likely landslides triggered by persistent rains."

He related that the true extent of the devastation will be revealed when the onslaught of the Category 5 Maria subsides. “Come tomorrow morning we will hit the road, as soon as the all clear is given, in search of the injured and those trapped in the rubble."

Earlier, Skerrit had to be rescued when the roof of his house was blown off and his home was flooded.

"So far, the winds have swept away the roofs of almost every person I have spoken to, or otherwise made contact with. The roof of my own official residence was among the first to go, and this apparently triggered an avalanche of torn away roofs in the city and the countryside."

He warned that “It is too early to speak of the condition of the air and seaports," but suspected that both would be inoperable for a few days. "That is why I am eager now to solicit the support of friendly nations and organizations with helicopter services. For, I personally, am eager to get up and get around the country to see and determine what's needed.

“I am honestly not preoccupied with physical damage at this time because it is devastating... Indeed, mind-boggling. My focus, now, is in rescuing the trapped and securing medical assistance for the injured. We will need help, my friend, we will need help of all kinds," he added.

"Please let the world know Dominica has been devastated. We do not know how many are dead if any. We shall know in the morning. The hurricane is still on. We were brutalized by the hurricane," he urged.

Hurricane Maria made landfall on the island, packing winds of over 162 mph. It is the first time Dominica has ever been hit by a Category 5 storm. In 1979, Hurricane David struck the island as a Category 4 storm, the deadliest to date. Some 56 people died and three-quarters of the population was left homeless.

There has been no news of casualties so far – but a police official, Inspector Pellam Jno Baptiste told AP it was still too dangerous for officers to make a full assessment as the storm raged outside.

“Where we are, we can’t move,” he said in a brief phone interview.

A caller on the national DBS Radio Dominica said the Princess Margaret Hospital's "roof is gone and the generator has failed so it is in total darkness ... this is bad."

Dr. Sam Christian at Pointe Michel, Dominica reported that during the night, the wind was howling, “Rain is being blown through the doors and windows … I’’m standing ankle deep in water ... Hurricane Maria is full force. We’re just hunkered down. I can see no lights in Pointe Michel at this time."

The Caribbean Community, the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States and Trinidad and Tobago stand ready to send aid to Dominica as soon as it is safe to do so they have said.

Venezuela's Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza answered the call to help, offering immediate assistance to the island in a form of an aid shipment as soon as Tuesday morning.

The U.S. based National Hurricane Center has warned, “Maria is developing the dreaded pinhole eye.”

That’s a sign of an extremely strong hurricane likely to get even mightier, said University of Miami hurricane researcher Brian McNoldy. Just like when a spinning ice skater brings in their arms and rotates faster, a smaller, tighter eye shows the same physics, he said.

Maria’s eye shrank to a narrow 16 kilometers across. “You just don’t see those in weaker hurricanes,” McNoldy said.

The hurricane was upgraded to a major Category 5 storm as it closed in on the Leeward Islands, hitting Dominica and Guadeloupe, and now aiming for the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, which are under a hurricane warning.

Puerto Rico Governor Pedro Rosello has declared a state of emergency as the island prepares for a direct hit expected on Tuesday night as it faces a hurricane warning. It would be the first time in 85 years that the country receives a direct hit if Maria stays on its current course.

Daryl Titre, a broadcaster from Dominica, told teleSUR at 5:42 p.m., a little over two hours before Hurricane Maria was due to make landfall, that it had been raining heavily since 11:00 a.m.

"In my part of the country there is still electricity, but I have had reports that there is no electricity in other parts. As well as heavy wind, as well as fallen trees in certain areas," he said.

But minutes after his interview his power went out.