Turkey issues travel warning over Hurricane Maria

By Nazli Yuzbasioglu

ANKARA

Turkey’s foreign ministry on Wednesday issued a warning for Turkish citizens traveling to regions affected by Hurricane Maria.

Maria, which intensified to a Category 5 storm in the last 24 hours, made landfall in Puerto Rico on Wednesday after battering Dominica overnight.

The "extremely dangerous" storm is expected to bring 160 mile-per-hour (260 km/h) winds, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.

Maria has left at least one person dead and two missing on the French island of Guadeloupe, media reports have said.

The ministry warned Turkish citizens to avoid all but essential travel to the affected regions in the next days.

"It is important for our citizens, who are still in the regions concerned, to take all kinds of precautions in terms of their personal security, to be prepared for possible developments, to be vigilant in all circumstances and to closely follow the announcements made or to be made by local authorities,” the statement added.

The ministry recommended citizens follow announcements from Turkish representations as well as alerts issued by the local authorities, saying Turkish missions in Havana, Santo Domingo, Caracas and Washington and Turkey’s Miami consulate were sharing updates through social media.