The greatest danger has passed, it’s true, but the tail of Hurricane Maria could still wreak havoc on the island of Puerto Rico.

This has warned the coordinator of warnings of the National Weather Service (SNM) Ernesto Morales, who said that the NHC "still maintains in force the hurricane warning for Puerto Rico."

"The hurricane warning will continue until the conditions (of the phenomenon) are not in our region. That could be late tonight or early Thursday morning," Morales said in a statement on Wednesday.

Hurricane conditions, which include winds of 74 miles per hour or more, will continue to be felt on Wednesday, and tropical storm conditions (winds ranging between 39 and 73 miles per hour) are expected on the island until early hours of Thursday, especially in the northwest of the island, reported El Nuevo Día.

#LoÚltimo :rotating_light: El huracán María toca tierra cerca de Yabucoa, en Puerto Rico como categoría 4 y vientos de 155mph. #HuracánMaría #PuertoRico pic.twitter.com/0RBce6Vyft

— Informando (@InformandoRD7) 20 de septiembre de 2017

Even when these conditions associated with the hurricane cease and the hurricane warning is no longer effective, the SNM warned of a high danger of flooding because of the rains that will continue to register until possibly next Monday, the report said.

According to local media reports, at 11 am this Wednesday, the cyclone was on the northwest of the island at 12 miles per hour, accumulating about 20 inches of rain in its path and "cyclonic swells" of up to nine feet, which could be accompanied by "big and destructive waves".

As Morales continued, "the cyclone decreased its winds in its passage through the island from 155 miles to 140 miles per hour due to the interaction with the mountainous area of ​​Puerto Rico."

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecasts that hurricane strikes will be felt in the Dominican Republic in the early hours of Thursday, which is why the Island's Emergency Operations Center has requested the population of flood zones to "evacuate and take shelter in the enabled shelters".