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1 of 16View of the aftermath of Hurricane Irma on Sint Maarten Dutch of Saint Martin island September 6, 2017.Netherlands Ministry of Defence—Reuters -
2 of 16Fishermen remove their wooden boat from the sea in the Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017.Dieu Nalio Chery—AP -
3 of 16A fisherman removes equipment from his wooden boat in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017.Dieu Nalio Chery—AP -
4 of 16Pierre walks out of his house in the neighborhood of Aviation in Cap-Haitien on September 7, 2017.Hector Retamal—AFP/Getty Images -
5 of 16Debris is seen near the Puerto Chico Harbor during the passing of Hurricane Irma on September 6, 2017 in Fajardo, Puerto Rico.Jose Jimenez—Getty Images -
6 of 16A truck drives past fallen trees as Hurricane Irma howls past Puerto Rico after thrashing several smaller Caribbean islands, in Fajardo, Puerto Rico September 6, 2017.Alvin Baez—Reuters -
7 of 16Joshua Alicea, right, rescue staff member from the Municipal Emergency Management Agency toured the streets of the Matelnillo community searching for citizens in the northeastern part of the island in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017. The US territory was first to declare a state of emergency last Monday, as the National Hurricane Center forecast that the storm would strike the Island Wednesday.Carlos Giusti—AP -
8 of 16A man cleans after rains fell during the night before the arrival of Hurricane Irma, in Cap-Haitien, Haiti, on September 7, 2017.Hector Retamal—AFP/Getty Images -
9 of 16A woman pushes out floodwaters on her property after the passing of Hurricane Irma, in St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017.Johnny Jno-Baptiste—AP -
10 of 16Julio Feliciano ties a rope to a fallen tree to get it pulled by a truck during a search mission, as hurricane Irma hits Puerto Rico in Fajardo, on September 6, 2017.Ricardo Arduengo—AFP/Getty Images -
11 of 16Children carry containers for water as Hurricane Irma slammed across islands in the northern Caribbean on Wednesday in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.Ricardo Rojas—Reuters -
12 of 16People pick up debris as Hurricane Irma howled past Puerto Rico after thrashing several smaller Caribbean islands, in Fajardo, Puerto Rico on September 6, 2017.Alvin Baez—Reuters -
13 of 16Hurricane Irma approaches Samana, Dominican Republic, Thursday, Sept. 7, 2017.Tatiana Fernandez—AP -
14 of 16A man rests on a cot inside a shelter set up at the Berta Zalduondo elementary school in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017.Carlos Giusti—AP -
15 of 16A rescue team from the local emergency management agency inspects flooded areas in Fajardo, Puerto Rico on September 6, 2017Jose Jimenez—Getty Images -
16 of 16Rescue staff from the Municipal Emergency Management Agency investigate an empty flooded car in Fajardo, Puerto Rico on Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017.Carlos Giusti—AP
Hurricane Irma, a Category 5 storm and the strongest Atlantic hurricane on record, is ravaging the Caribbean as it continues along what appears to be a collision course with the southeastern United States. Irma has left at least 10 people dead as of Thursday morning, though that number is expected to rise as recovery teams continue their work.
Irma was particularly devastating for the Caribbean island of Barbuda, a typically idyllic vacation destination known for its pink-sand beaches and plentiful bird life. The storm destroyed or heavily damaged nearly every building on the island, the Associated Press reports, leaving more than half of the 1,400 residents homeless. “It is just really a horrendous situation,” Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne told the AP.
The monstrous storm, easily visible by astronauts aboard the International Space Station, also ripped through Puerto Rico Wednesday, leaving just shy of 900,000 residents without power and tens of thousands without water. The storm also reportedly did serious damage to Princess Juliana International Airport, an airfield on St. Martin famous for landing airliners’ low approaches over a nearby beach.
Residents in Florida and neighboring states are now bracing for what will almost certainly be an unavoidable and calamitous impact. Hurricane Irma remains a Category 5 storm as of Thursday morning, with maximum sustained winds of nearly 180 miles per hour. The storm is moving west-northwest at about 17 miles per hour, with Irma’s center currently just north of the Dominican Republic. It’s expected to be just off Florida’s southernmost tip by late Saturday or early Sunday.
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