Florida is braced for ‘Irmageddon’

Millions told ‘run for your lives’ in biggest exodus in US history Caribbean islands face more devastation from second hurricane ‘Ghost town’ Miami may escape the worst as Irma veers west

MILLIONS of Florida residents were ordered to evacuate their homes last night as the ‘storm of the century’ bore down on the US mainland after leaving a trail of devastation across the Caribbean.

As Hurricane Irma approached the Sunshine State with wind speeds topping 200mph, governor Rick Scott issued a plea to those who had chosen to remain, warning: ‘Get out before it’s too late.’ His intervention came as: Hundreds of thousands of drivers took to the roads in the biggest exodus in US history;

More than 6.3million people in Florida, home to 400,000 British expats, were revealed to be in the path of the storm, which has already killed at least 24 people across the Caribbean;

Tourists and expats were under threat from looters and violent mobs – including escaped prisoners – according to relatives of those stranded on the British Virgin Islands;

Hurricane Jose – a second storm following closely behind Irma – was reclassified as a category four hurricane, leading to fears of yet more death and destruction;

Experts claimed that Irma could wreak damage of more than $100billion, making it the costliest natural disaster ever;

Two British couples claimed to have been failed by the UK Government after being stranded without food, water or power on the island of St Maarten.

Irma made landfall on Cuba’s Sabana-Camaguey Archipelago late on Friday as a category five storm, but by yesterday afternoon had weakened to a category four.

Last night, Miami looked set to escape the worst of the destruction after the hurricane changed direction at the last minute. However, Florida, which is just 140 miles wide, is bracing itself for the 300-mile-wide storm to hit today.

Hurricane expert Kerry Emanuel revealed Irma had twice the combined power of all bombs used in the Second World War.

Dubbing Irma ‘nuclear’, Governor Scott said the entire state would be ‘engulfed’, and warned that a storm surge could create waves up to 12ft high, flooding homes as much as a mile inland. Popular The winds pick up in Miami as Irma approaches. Above: The path the hurricane is predicted to take tourist attractions in Orlando have been closed while celebrities including Jennifer Lopez boarded up their Miami mansions and joined the exodus.

Miami was a virtual ghost town yesterday after an overnight curfew was imposed to stop looting. Driving rain and ominously dark skies signalled the impending arrival of a hurricane, which has wiped out 96 per cent of homes on Barbuda and caused severe damage in Anguilla, St Barts, St Maarten, Haiti and Cuba. The death toll in the Caribbean stands at 24 but is expected to rise, possibly into the hundreds.

Simon Cross, 32, who lives on the British Virgin Island of Tortola, told how it had been virtually destroyed. ‘It’s unrecognisable,’ he said. ‘There’s not any greenery left on the trees. It’s a brown, barren, debris-infested island.’

Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson also revealed how he saw his home ‘decimated’, and ‘boats piled up like matchsticks in the harbour’.

The tycoon, who rode out the storm in the wine cellar beneath his home on his private island of Necker, said: ‘I have never seen anything like this. Necker and the whole area has been devastated.

‘The boats are piled up like matchsticks in the harbour. Huge cargo ships were thrown out of the water and into rocks. The houses have their roofs blown off.’

However, despite early criticism that the British Government had not sent enough help to the BVIs, locals last night welcomed the arrival of nearly 300 troops and Marines on board RFA Mounts Bay as part of Operation Ruman.

But there was an embarrassing

Warning that entire state will be engulfed

glitch when troops failed to land military vehicles on a beach in Anguilla. Instead, Royal Navy Wildcat helicopters flew in supplies, while private ships including Branson’s yacht Necker Belle ferried in water, medicine and food.

Last night there were reports of unrest on Tortola, with claims that inmates had escaped amid widespread looting. Angela Coleby, whose husband Harold Adu lives on the island, said: ‘He says it is carnage. Prisoners are trying to steal boats to escape. People have had their throats cut with flying glass. A mob mentality has started.’

Others posted videos on social media of looters stealing TVs – even though there is no electricity on the island. Sierra St Croix wrote on Facebook: ‘My husband told me… that prisoners are ganging up and forcing entry into what is left of people’s homes around him and held up a few people and robbed them of the little they have left.’