Category Five Irma hits islands
Most powerful hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean may head for Florida next
Most powerful Atlantic Ocean hurricane in recorded history makes first landfall in the islands of the northeast Caribbean. The storm may be heading to US state of Florida next.
ST JOHN’S (Antigua): The most powerful Atlantic Ocean hurricane in recorded history made its first landfall in the islands of the northeast Caribbean, churning along a path pointing to Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Cuba before possibly heading for Florida over the weekend.
The eye of Hurricane Irma passed over Barbuda around 1.47am local time, the National Weather Service said. Residents said over local radio that phone lines went down.
Heavy rain and howling winds raked the neighbouring island of Antigua, sending debris flying as people huddled in their homes or government shelters.
Officials warned people to seek protection from Irma’s “onslaught” in a statement that closed with: “May God protect us all.”
The Category Five storm had maximum sustained winds of 295kph, according to the US National Hurricane Centre in Miami.
Its forecast late on Tuesday was for the winds to fluctuate slightly but for the storm to remain at Category Four or Five strength for the next day or two. The most dangerous winds, usually nearest to the eye, were forecast to pass near the northern Virgin Islands and near or just north of Puerto Rico.
“I hear it’s a Cat Five now and I’m terrified,” Antigua resident Carol Joseph said yesterday as she finished her last trip to the supermarket before seeking shelter. “I had to come back for more batteries because I don’t know how long the current will be off.”
On the island, people who live in low-lying areas were staying with friends and relatives on higher ground or sleeping in churches, schools and community facilities built to withstand hurricanes.
None of the shelters has yet been tested by Category Five winds, however.
Many homes in Antigua and Barbuda are not built on concrete foundations or have poorly constructed wooden roofs that are susceptible to wind damage.
Other islands in the path of the storm included the Virgin Islands and Anguilla, a small, low-lying territory of about 15,000 people. US President Donald Trump declared emergencies in Florida, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, and authorities in the Bahamas said they would evacuate six southern islands. Warm water is fuel for hurricanes and
1°
Irma is over water that is C warmer than
26° normal. The C water that hurricanes need goes about 80m, said Jeff Masters, meteorology director of the private forecasting service Weather Underground.
Four other storms have had winds as strong in the overall Atlantic region but they were in the Caribbean Sea or the Gulf of Mexico, which are usually home to warmer waters that fuel cyclones.