Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Irma ‘pummels’ British territory
A British territory has been “pummelled” overnight by Hurricane Irma as winds of up to 175mph left death and destruction in the Atlantic.
The Turks and Caicos Islands’ government declared a national shutdown as the category five storm continued to tear across the Caribbean, with life-threatening wind, rain and a storm surge expected into tomorrow.
Irma, which continues to be a “potentially catastrophic” hurricane, has killed at least 14 people according to reports, with islands across the region told to prepare for storm surges.
The hurricane’s ruinous touch, which has already reduced the island of Barbuda to wreckage, will also be felt in nearby Haiti as the storm sweeps north west.
Meanwhile, the British Virgin Islands said they were confident of being able to rebuild after houses were reduced to foundations following the “devastating” storm.
Images posted on social media showed entire structures razed to the ground, with debris scattered across the streets. Sharon Flax-Brutus, director of tourism for the group of more than 60 islands, said: “The destruction caused by Hurricane Irma in the British Virgin Islands has been devastating.
“The destination has lost entire structures, and many homes are without roofs, or have been diminished to merely foundations.”
She added communication between the islands has been difficult as mobile phone towers had come down, meaning it was tricky to gauge the full extent of the damage.
Irma was first classified as a tropical storm on August 30 and rapidly intensified over the following days, becoming a category four hurricane on September 4.
Then, winds reached a peak of 130mph, but soon became the strongest for more than a decade when sustained winds peaked at 185mph.
Saint Martin, pictured, which has already been victim to Irma, is now facing a new threat in the form of Jose, while the British territories of Anguilla and Montserrat are on alert for a tropical storm.
Yet another hurricane, called Katia, is building in the Gulf of mexico.
Thousands of British tourists believed to be holidaying in the Caribbean have been warned to follow evacuation orders while some have been advised to stay in their hotel rooms.
States of emergency have been declared in Puerto Rico, Cuba and Florida, where the storm is due to make landfall this weekend.
In response to the unfolding crisis, Theresa May announced that £32 million had been released to assist the relief effort.
Speaking after a meeting of the Government’s emergency Cobra committee on Thursday afternoon, the Prime Minister said: “We must not forget that there is a further storm on the way.”
The British military has dispatched a task group of experts into the affected areas of the Atlantic to provide support and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Mounts Bay vessel is transporting supplies.