Hurricane Irma is reported to have claimed seven lives and severely damaged infrastructure on some Caribbean islands, after developing into ‘one of the most powerful hurricanes ever recorded’, with 185mph winds at the heart of highly-destructive storms.

 

Local commentators are now widely predicting that the death toll is certain to rise as the hurricane – described as the most powerful for decades – has already caused tremendous damage.

 

DEATH TOLL IS EXPECTED TO RISE

Six people have already died on the island of St Martin alone, although the small island of Barbuda suffered most in terms of infrastructure damage and is said to be mostly under water.

 

President Gaston Browne tweeted overnight that 60% of all homes have been destroyed on the island: “It is a total devastation – Barbuda now is literally a rubble.” [Fortunately, neighbouring Antigua was not so badly impacted-Ed].

 

However, there is still much more to come as Irma continues its junpredictable journey through the Caribbean corridor. According to overnight warnings from the respected Florida-based National Hurricane Center, Irma continues to pose a major threat as one of the most ‘potentially catastrophic category five hurricanes’ ever seen.

 

FLORIDA KEYS NOW UNDER THREAT

It has not only delivered life-threatening winds, but there are now continued fears of severe storm surges, rainfall hazards and serious power outages for Puerto Rico and the northern coast of Hispaniola today – as well as in the Turks and Caicos and south eastern Bahamas regions.

 

Last night (London time), the Center said: “Hurricane watches are in effect for the north western Bahamas and much of Cuba. Irma is likely to bring dangerous wind, storm surge and rainfall to portions of these areas on Friday and Saturday.

 

AIRLINES HAVE SUSPENDED SERVICES TO MANY ISLANDS

“The threat of direct hurricane impacts in Florida over the weekend and early next week has increased. Hurricane watches will likely be issued for portions of the Florida Keys and the Florida peninsula on Thursday [7 September/today-Ed].

 

According to reports, tourists and residents have already been advised to leave the Florida Keys resort archipelago now that a state of emergency has been declared – effectively sanctioning the release of Federal disaster funds and relief supplies for the areas of Florida, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands where necessary.

 

At the same time, all leading US airlines have suspended operations to many Caribbean destinations while the damage to facilities is still under assessment and the hurricane remains unpredictable.