The governor of Puerto Rico is calling Hurricane Maria "the biggest and potentially most catastrophic hurricane" to hit in a century.

News 12 Connecticut spoke with a few residents with loved ones in Puerto Rico, and they say while they wait to see what happens, they have been doing a lot of praying.

Video from San Juan, right as the eye of the storm was making its way in toward the coast, shows trees whipping around and debris already starting to cover the ground.

Millions of the island's residents hunkered down in their homes, others in the most vulnerable areas, such as the low-lying and flood-prone areas, were evacuated.

Residents in San Juan made sure to stock up ahead of the hurricane's arrival.

Back in western Connecticut, residents with ties to the island are watching and hoping the damage isn't as dire as predicted.

Bridgeport city council member Lydia Martinez was born in Puerto Rico and still has relatives there.

According to Martinez, she spoke to her cousin who had boarded up her home and stocked up on canned food.

Martinez says other things, such as gas and water, were in limited supply.

“She said she went to buy water and she was able to buy this time only two packs of water because it was all gone,” says Martinez. “So not a good thing.”

Martinez says her loved ones are emotionally exhausted from going through this again so soon after Irma.

Fairfield-based Save the Children says its is preparing to deploy a team to Puerto Rico immediately following the storm.