Category 5 Hurricane Irma , thestrongest storm ever recordedin the Atlantic Union of the Caribbean and east of Florida , crucify its means through some of the first target on its route on Wednesday — and the initial outlook is not pretty .
Irma has persist in to terrify with sustained winds of185 sea mile per hour(298 klick per 60 minutes ) , with blow reaching up to 225 miles per hour ( 362 klick / h ) . The violent storm is still heading northwest along some of the most heavily dwell island it will extend before potentially reach Florida ; behind it , authorisation are still assessing damage , deliver casualties and count the all in .
Here ’s what we know about Irma ’s wake so far .
Antigua and Barbuda
According to theNew York Times , Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne initially said the island had braved the tempest with significantly less impairment than expect , and “ I presume to say that no other country in the Caribbean would have been as well inclined as we were . ”
wind on Barbuda were so firm this morning the anemometer , the legal instrument value them , expose : https://t.co / cNHVhF4vNFpic.twitter.com / zCyC9O0p6Q
— Evan McMurry ( @evanmcmurry)September 6 , 2017
But Browne , who was on Antigua , did not receive precise report card from the other island , which turns out to have been devastated . Later in the day , the prime ministetold reportershe estimates upwards of 90 per centum of Barbuda , with a population of around 1,600 , was in ruins and 60 percent of the universe was now homeless .
“ The total housing stock was damaged , ” Browne said . “ It is just a total devastation . Barbuda is literally a dust . ”
photograph of Barbuda show the island essentially wipe of most standing structures and strew with volume of debris .
Aerial views of Barbuda after getting slammed by the eyewall of#Irma . ( motion picture credits : Bachelor of Arts Television / Radio)pic.twitter.com/7ggHHfKYVi
— Hurricane Tracker App ( @hurrtrackerapp)September 6 , 2017
Per theTimes , the damage to Antigua could have been far bad .
Anguilla, St Martin and St Barthélemy
Anguilla , an overseas British dominion , the French and Dutch - administered St Martin , and French - shell out St Barthélemy are a inadequate stretch northwest of Antigua and Barbuda and were next in line to be bang .
South Florida Caribbean Newsreported Anguilla had taken a lineal hit from Irma but survived largely entire . Local resort , airports and seaports find out minimal damage , “ although many secret residences support some damage . ”
Snap shoot of what ’s going on in Anguilla right now#Irma#IrmaHurricanepic.twitter.com / EIOJ0bs1Oa
— Dré ♍ 🇦 🇬 ( @Dreezy268)September 6 , 2017
picture posted by 19 - year - old Radio Anguilla reporter Nisha Dupuis , whobroadcast livethrough the tempest , suggest the damage certainly could have been regretful .
https://twitter.com/embed/status/905418769564147713
https://twitter.com/embed/status/905454157020225536
accord tothe BBC , French President Emanuel Macron has warned damage to St Martin and St Barthélemy is major , with deaths look , and that the itinerary to recovery would be “ hard and roughshod . ” Damage in the Dutch department of St. Martin to the Confederacy is also far-flung ; French Interior Minister Gérard Collomb allege Irma had destroyed some of the sturdiest structures on the island .
[ IRMA ] Saint Martin dans le mur de l’oeil subit les effets de l’ouragan IRMA#iram#ouragan#SaintMartin(Source : Rinsy Xieng)pic.twitter.com / e2j7e9KtOu
— RCI Guadeloupe ( @RCI_GP)September 6 , 2017
HURRICANEIRMA 06/09/17#MarigotBy Laurent Petit ce matin#StMartin##SXM#IRMApic.twitter.com / deDDVVu9iF
— Jérémy Edouard ( @bienglace)September 6 , 2017
The airport on the Dutch side had been rip to shreds in places , while the relaxation of the Dutch half of the islandsufferedravaged town , magnate outages and a communications blackout .
Vliegveld ' Princess Juliana International Airport ' op#SintMaartenis ook platgewaaid door#orkaan#Irma … #SXMpic.twitter.com / cVWwBeiX0b
— Bondtehond ( @Bondtehond)September 6 , 2017
St. Kitts and Nevis , a small two - island nation to the south , appears to haveweathered Irma fairly well .
British and US Virgin Islands
The full extent of damage is unclear , but according to theNew York Times , taxi machine driver Javorn Micheal Fahie of Tortola in the British Virgin Islands allege he watch numerous roofs ripped off houses in his neighborhood .
“ Oh boy , ” he told the Times . “ A lot of wind and rain … all the trees around us have no leaves . Everything is empty . ”
Kelsey Nowakowski , who inhabit in St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands , told the paper the storm matte “ seismic ” and “ ruinous . ” video recording mail by WeatherNation show major tempest surges , toppled Tree and flooded neck of the woods .
Catastrophic scathe to St. Thomas as#HurricanIrmaplowed through former Field crew are in St. Thomas and will do resilient updates tonight.pic.twitter.com/xJQ5RuOt6x
— WeatherNation ( @WeatherNation)September 6 , 2017
Another Twitter user posted pic of what appear to be a Department of Labor building in the surface area , which was surrounded by devastate and flooded streets .
pictures of Back Street / Department of Labor , St. Thomas , VI.#hurricaneIrmapic.twitter.com / BmjVPQ8w8O
— the problem ( @thelocmagician)September 6 , 2017
Puerto Rico
Next in Irma ’s way was Puerto Rico ; according toNBC meteorologist Bill Karins , the hurricane run more or less north of the island , and was projected to give up its densely populated capital letter of San Juan the worst of the storm .
Mercifully#Irmaeye of Cat 5 winds will miss#SanJuan&#PuertoRico . Cat 1 - 2 damage expectedpic.twitter.com/oaEPpHyYXl
— Bill Karins 💧 ( @BillKarins)September 6 , 2017
Current location of Hurricane Irma . Localización real del Huracán Irma.#prwx#usviwxpic.twitter.com / r5Eo3VmL4P
— NWS San Juan ( @NWSSanJuan)September 7 , 2017
The violent storm is still lashing Puerto Rico , though it will take some time for the full extent of the damage to become exonerated . AP newsperson Dánica Coto warn some 650,000 people had lose power , with another 47,000 without water .
Irma approaches Puerto Rico . quat 5 storm will be 35 naut mi from San Juan at around 7 autopsy EST . intimately 650 K west / out power ; 47 K due west / out waterpic.twitter.com/hDWCKo3kQi
— Dánica Coto ( @danicacoto)September 6 , 2017
According to CNN , Gov. Ricardo Rosselló say , “ From the centre of operations that we have over here in San Juan , there is pretty important harm already done . ”
What’s next
After Puerto Rico , Irma is schedule tocontinue heading west , putting it on a trajectory to bang the northerly Dominican Republic and Haiti , the Turks and Caicos Islands , Cuba , the Bahamas and in the end Florida this weekend .
TheWashington Postwarned “ the latest electronic computer models show [ Irma ] purport at South Florida as if follow counselling by GPS , ” and it seems increasingly probable to pip the State Department ’s tip before turning north and rake the east coast along the Miami - Ft . Lauderdale - West Palm Beach corridor .
Anyone telling you they know for sure the center of#Irmawill miss Florida does n’t know what they ’re talk about . No one knows for certain .
— Dr. Rick Knabb ( @DrRickKnabb)September 6 , 2017
Per CNN , self-assurance in Florida aresending sundry messagesabout whether residents should evacuate before the storm hits later this calendar week . Two atomic plants in the area , Turkey Point and St. Lucie , are possibly in the lineal path of the hurricane , but public utility Florida Power & Light insisted to theMiami Heraldthe adroitness were design to withstand extreme conditions .
This is a breaking news account and may be updated as more information becomes available .
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