Hurricane Irma said to be ‘potentially catastrophic’ storm
Hurricane Irma grew into a dangerous Category 5 storm, the most powerful seen in the Atlantic in over a decade, and roared toward islands in the north-east Caribbean yesterday on a path that could eventually take it to the United States.
The US National Hurricane Centre said Irma was a “potentially catastrophic” storm with maximum sustained winds of 180 mph as it bore down on the twin-island nation of Antigua and Barbuda. It was centred about 225 miles east of Antigua in the late morning and moving west at 14 mph.
The centre said there was a growing possibility that the storm’s effects could be felt in Florida later this week and over the weekend, though it was still too early to be sure of its future track. “Everyone in hurricane-prone areas should ensure that they have their hurricane plan in place,” it said.
Irma’s centre was expected to move over portions of the northern Leeward Islands late yesterday and early today, the hurricane centre said. The eye is then expected to pass about 50 miles from Puerto Rico later today. Irma is the strongest Atlantic hurricane since Rita in 2005, officials said.
“Puerto Rico has not seen a hurricane of this magnitude in almost 100 years,” Carlos Anselmi, a national weather service meteorologist in San Juan, said.
Authorities warned that the storm could dump up to 12 inches of rain, cause landslides and flash floods and generate waves of up to 23 feet. Government officials began evacuations and urged people to finalise all preparations as shelves emptied out across islands including Puerto Rico.
“The decisions that we make in the next couple of hours can make the difference between life and death,” Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello said. “This is an extremely dangerous storm.”
Hurricane warnings were issued for 12 Caribbean island groups including Antigua, where buzzing chainsaws and pounding hammers could be heard while crews delivered water to neighbouring Barbuda, one of the islands closest to the hurricane’s path.
Prime minister Gaston Browne said he was confident Barbuda would weather the storm because its shelter was built with reinforced concrete and equipped with a backup generator.
“I am satisfied that at a governmental level that we have done everything that is humanly possible to mitigate against the effects or the potential effects of this storm,” he said.
“What is really required now is for Antiguans and Barbudans… to follow the warnings and to act appropriately.”