‘The kind of storm where you get thousands of lives lost’
IRMA GENERATING MORE ENERGY THAN ENTIRE 2013 HURRICANE SEASON
For more than a day, monstrous Hurricane Irma sustained Category 5 winds — 300 km/ h — as it roared through Caribbean islands on its way to a possible devastating hit on Florida.
The strongest Atlantic Ocean hurricane ever measured destroyed homes and flooded streets across a chain of small islands, passing directly over Barbuda and leaving the island of some 1,700 people incommunicado.
This is only the second time since satellites started tracking storms about 40 years ago that one maintained winds of 300 km/ h for more than 24 hours, said Colorado State University meteorology professor Phil Klotzbach. The other was the massive killer typhoon Haiyan that killed more than 6,000 people in the Philippines in 2013.
“It’s a humdinger,” he said. “This thing is a buzz saw; I’m glad Floridians are taking it very seriously. This is going to be a bad storm. I don’t see any way out of it.”
By late Wednesday, Irma will have generated more energy than the entire 2013 Atlantic hurricane season, he said.
Irma “is the kind of storm where you get thousands of lives lost,” said Chuck Watson, a Savannah, Georgiabased disaster modeler with Enki Research. “This is not going to be the big slow- motion flood like Harvey — this is a real, honest- to- God hurricane.”
France 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.
While France received no immediate reports of casualties, the minister for French overseas territories, Annick Girardin, said: “We have a lot to fear for a certain number of our compatriots who unfortunately didn’t want to listen to the protection measures and go to more secure sites ... We’re preparing for the worst.”
Midcie Francis, spokesperson for National Office of Disaster Services for Antigua and Barbuda, said there had been massive destruction on the island.
“A significant number of the houses have been totally destroyed,” said Lionel Hurst, the prime minister’s chief of staff.
Barbuda was “totally demolished,” with 90 per cent of all dwellings there levelled, Prime Minister Gaston Browne said, according to island television broadcasts.
The U. S. National Weather Service said Puerto Rico had not seen a hurricane of Irma’s magnitude since Hurricane San Felipe in 1928, which killed a total of 2,748 people in Guadeloupe, Puerto Rico and Florida.
“We have to prepare for the worst,” Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello said. “If we don’t, it could be devastating.”
Irma lashed Puerto Rico with heavy rain and powerful winds Wednesday night, l eaving nearly 900,000 people without power
Puerto Rico’s public power company had cut back on staff and maintenance amid a deep economic crisis and the agency’s director warned that some areas could be without power from four to six months because the infrastructure has already deteriorated so badly.
Nearly 1,000 people in Puerto Rico were in shelters Wednesday afternoon.
Irma could also deal a crippling blow to Haiti while it’s still recovering from hurricane Matthew, which struck less than a year ago, said a Canadian aid worker in the impoverished country.
“The level of poverty in Haiti is not even comparable to some of the other countries,” said Laura Sewell of Ottawa, assistant country director in Haiti for CARE.
The U. S. National Hurricane Center said Irma’s winds would fluctuate, but the storm would likely remain at Category 4 or 5 for the next day or two as it roared past Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba, the Turks & Caicos and parts of the Bahamas.
Bahamas Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said his government was evacuating the six islands in the south because authorities would not be able to help anyone caught in the “potentially catastrophic” wind, flooding and storm surge. People there would be flown to Nassau starting Wednesday in what he called the largest storm evacuation in the country’s history.
“The price you may pay for not evacuating is your life or serious physical harm,” Minnis said.
When Antigua’s airport was closed Tuesday, visitors were sent away with advice to seek protection from the storm, and a prayer: “May God protect us all.”
By early Sunday, Irma is expected to hit Florida, where Gov. Rick Scott said he planned to activate 7,000 National Guard members by Friday.
“Do not sit and wait for the storm to come,” said Scott. “It is extremely dangerous and deadly and will cause devastation. Get prepared right now.”
President Donald Trump also declared an emergency in Florida and authorities in the Bahamas said they would evacuate six southern islands.
Experts now worry that Irma could rake the entire Florida east coast from Miami to Jacksonville and then head into Savannah, Georgia and the Carolinas, striking highly populated and developed areas.
DO NOT SIT AND WAIT FOR THE STORM TO COME.