san juan puerto rico miguel cruz awake descent hurricane maria home wednesday morning massive storm peel roof send belong fly directions leave intact icon jesus hang bed cruz one thousands puerto ricans pick wreckage leave maria hurricane devastate basic service debt-laden u.s. territory pitch 3.4 million residents darkness night fell crash puerto rico category storm five-step saffir-simpson scale maria flip top build knock phone electricity across island turn low-lying roads swell rivers awash debris terrify pray god door windows open say sonja alvarez 52 spend 10 hours shut bedroom family maria rag outside come point think would tree tear apart windows shatter expose home turn inside maria kill least one man strike piece fly lumber storm also kill least nine elsewhere caribbean 11 p.m. edt 0300 gmt maria drift away puerto rico slow storm blow maximum sustain wind 110 mph 175 kph 55 miles 90 km eastern tip dominican republic national hurricane center say brutal wind leave streets historic old town puerto rican capital san juan strew rubble collapse balconies fall lamp post dead bird among dramatically damage areas capital la perla small barrio nestle steep hill separate stone wall old san juan sea notorious slum la perla image brighten recent years become artsier enclave colorful home provide set megahit despacito puerto rican singers luis fonsi daddy yankee however red wooden home area resident cruz reduce roofless jumble front door hang right angle frame behind paint sacred heart jesus look bare white wall maria turn house convertible see star 45-year-old self-employed laborer say wryly relate flee bunker downstairs pit-bull estrella sort use things cruz add tough slope home stand shatter hulk concrete steel garage five cars trap roof sidewall give way maria batter beyond home near stone wall 500-year-old city cooker fridge toilet stand expose atop another wooden house view caribbean use another floor say angela torres 32 explain rest kitchen two bedrooms live room strip build maria room fly torres hunker tuesday night 87-year-old grandmother one floor learn maria knock one wall balcony home miles away almost die send photos say able go yet get many capital leave coastal home refuge elsewhere fill hotels across city return find flats ruin maria batter full water gingerly enter sodden fifth-storey flat heart old san juan aida pietri suddenly grip panic batter door rooftop terrace slam open shut wind bird fly daughter ash say rummage scatter cushion plant paper eventually eye alight metal box find undamaged storm maria bring fear pain shock puerto ricans