USA TODAY International Edition
Irma slams into Caribbean islands
Category 5 hurricane packs 185 mph winds, eyes Fla. landfall this weekend
Hurricane Irma, the most powerful Atlantic Ocean hurricane in recorded history, made its first landfall in the Caribbean early Wednesday as the Category 5 storm rolled toward a string of islands en route to a likely strike on the south Florida coast this weekend.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott said 1,000 National Guard troops would be in place by Wednesday night in his state to deal with the storm and its aftermath and that eventually all 6,000 troops would be reporting for duty.
Scott emphasized that Irma would be stronger and larger than Hurricane Andrew, the Category 5 storm that killed 65 people in Florida in 1992, destroyed more than 63,500 homes and caused $26.5 billion in damage.
He strongly urged everyone to leave vulnerable and low-lying areas to get out.
Scott also said the state was zeroing in on areas reporting shortages of bottled water and fuel shortage.
By 11 a.m. ET, Irma was about 140 miles east of San Juan, Puerto Rico, packing maximum sustained winds of 185 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. It was moving toward the west-northwest at 16 mph.
The U.S. State Department warned U.S. citizens to reconsider travel to Cuba, Haiti or the Dominican Republic due to the expected impact of Irma.
U.S. Navy officials, however, decided not to evacuate the Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, on Cuba's eastern tip, but did order an evacuation of non-essential personnel at Naval Air Station Key West.
Michel Magras, senator on the small French-speaking island of St. Barts, sent a text describing the "monster that passes over us," FranceInfo.com reported. "It is
“When there’s an evacuation, listen. In the middle of a hurricane, no one can rescue you.” Florida Gov. Rick Scott
apocalyptic, a lot of damage, a lot of roofs torn off," he wrote.
St. Martin, the half-French, half-Dutch island of around 80,000 people, was directly in the path of the storm. The relentless winds ripped off the roof of the main hospital. French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said government buildings on St. Martin had been destroyed, AFP reported.
The storm is heading westnorthwest on a path toward Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Cuba. It could reach Florida as early as Friday.
A mandatory evacuation for visitors to the Florida Keys began at sunrise Wednesday, with residents required to evacuate later in the day. President Trump has already declared emergencies in Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and authorities in the Bahamas said they would evacuate six southern islands.