Maria regains major hurricane status: NHC

Women walk against the wind before the arrival of Hurricane Maria in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, September 20, 2017. REUTERS/Ricardo Rojas

(Reuters) - Maria regained major hurricane strength near the eastern Dominican Republic early on Thursday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. The category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson wind scale was about 55 miles (90 km) north of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, with maximum sustained winds of 115 miles per hour (185 km/h), the NHC said. On the forecast track, the core of Maria will continue to move away from Puerto Rico during the next several hours, and then pass offshore of the northeastern coast of the Dominican Republic early on Thursday, the Miami-based weather forecaster said. (Reporting by Apeksha Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg)