WASHINGTON, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- Maria has intensified into a Category 5 hurricane on Monday as its eye is approaching Dominica in the eastern Caribbean, the U.S. Hurricane Center said in a statement on Monday evening.

The center of Maria was about 25 km east-southeast of Dominica and 70 km of Martinique in eastern Caribbean Sea.

The storm was moving west-northwest at a speed of 15 km per hour, with maximum sustained winds of 260 km per hour and stronger gusts, according to the agency.

Maria is now a Category 5 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale.