Hurricane Irma has roared into the Caribbean with record-setting force, battering the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico with powerful winds and rain on a potentially catastrophic path towards the United States.
Key points:
- Irma is the most powerful storm ever recorded in its location
- Has destroyed properties and knocked out communication between islands
- It is expected to rip west through Puerto Rico, Haiti and Cuba towards the US
Irma, the strongest Atlantic Ocean hurricane ever measured and roughly the size of Tasmania, destroyed homes and flooded streets throughout a chain of small islands in the northern Caribbean on Wednesday, passing directly over Barbuda and leaving the island of some 1,700 people cut off.
France has sent emergency food and water rations to the French islands of Saint Martin and Saint Barthelemy, where Irma ripped off roofs and knocked out all electricity.
Dutch marines who flew to three Dutch islands hammered by Irma reported extensive damage but no deaths or injuries.
The category five storm — the highest hurricane nomination by the US National Hurricane Centre (NHC) — had maximum sustained winds of 295 kilometres per hour.
The NHS said winds would likely fluctuate slightly, but that the storm would maintain its monster strength over the coming days.
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