Caribbean islands hit by rain and 185mph winds

Irma is expected to hit Florida on Sunday after devastating northern Caribbean

Heavy rain and 185mph winds lashed the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico’s north-east coast yesterday as Hurricane Irma roared through Caribbean islands on its way to a possible hit on southern Florida.

The strongest Atlantic Ocean hurricane ever measured destroyed homes and flooded streets across a chain of small islands in the northern Caribbean, passing directly over Barbuda and leaving the island of some 1,700 people incommunicado.

By early yesterday afternoon the centre of the storm was 20 miles eastsouth-east of St Thomas in the US Virgin Islands and 90 miles east of San Juan, Puerto Rico and heading west-north-west at 16mph. The US National Weather Service said Puerto Rico had not seen a hurricane of Irma’s magnitude since Hurricane San Felipe in 1928, which killed 2,748 people.

The US government has stepped in, with President Donald Trump this week approving an emergency declaration for the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

The US National Hurricane Centre 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 and Caicos and parts of the Bahamas.

Irma is expected to hit Florida on Sunday, and Governor Rick Scott said he planned to activate 7,000 National Guards.

Floridians stocked up on drinking water and other officials in the Florida Keys geared up to get tourists and residents out of Irma’s path.

The mayor of Miami-Dade County activated the emergency operation centre and urged residents to have three days’ worth of food and water.

Bahamas Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said his government was evacuating six islands 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 in what he called the largest storm evacuation in the country’s history.

Yesterday a new tropical storm formed in the Gulf of Mexico off Mexico’s coast.

Tropical Storm Katia had maximum sustained winds of 45mph by the early afternoon and the hurricane centre said it could become a hurricane before it approaches the coast of Veracruz state.

Picture: AP. Florida residents have been told to stock at least three days’ worth of supplies.

Hurrican Irma, off the coast of Puerto Rico.