Hurricane Irma, one of the most powerful Atlantic storms in a century, killed eight people and plunged Puerto Rico into darkness on Thursday as it swept through Caribbean islands while aiming for Florida.

The dead were reported on four islands. Weather forecasters have described Irma as a "potentially catastrophic" Category 5 storm, the highest U.S. classification for hurricanes.

At least half of Puerto Rico's homes and businesses were without power early on Thursday, according to Twitter posts and a message posted by an island utility executive.

The dual-island nation of Antigua and Barbuda was especially hard hit. The northernmost island, Barbuda, home to roughly 1,800 people, was "totally demolished," with 90 percent of all dwellings there leveled, Prime Minister Gaston Browne said, according to island television broadcasts.

Browne said one person was killed on Barbuda. A second storm-related fatality, that of a surfer, was reported on Barbados. The French government said at least six people were killed in Caribbean island territories of Saint Martin and Saint Barthelemy. Power was knocked out on both.

"This is not, by far, a definitive number .... We have not explored all the parts of the island," Guadeloupe prefect Eric Maire told reporters, adding the death toll was likely to rise in the next few hours.

Early television footage of Saint Martin showed a devastated marina with boats tossed into piles, submerged streets and flooded homes.

"It is an enormous disaster, 95 percent of the island is destroyed, I am in shock," Daniel Gibbs, chairman of a local council, told Radio Caribbean International.

Irma, with top sustained winds of 180 miles per hour (290 km per hour), was on track to reach Florida on Saturday or Sunday, becoming the second major hurricane to hit the U.S. mainland in as many weeks.

On its current path the core was expected to scrape the northern coast of the Dominican Republic and Haiti on Thursday. It was also on a track that would put it near the Turks and Caicos and southeastern Bahamas by Thursday evening.

The NHC said it was the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean and one of the five most forceful storms to hit the Atlantic basin in 82 years.

While Irma's intensity could fluctuate and its precise course remained uncertain, the storm was expected to remain at least a Category 4 before arriving in Florida.</s>State officials have already called for residents to head to shelters and obey all evacuations orders: more than 100,000 were told to evacuate from Miami-Dade County starting early Thursday.

​"I cannot stress this enough: Do not ignore evacuation orders," Florida Governor Rick Scott said during a Thursday conference. "We can rebuild your home, but we cannot rebuild your life."

"Take what you need, but only what you need."

​According to reports, Hurricane Irma is likely to create the largest mass evacuation in US history: Miami-Dade county, along with nearby Broward and Palm Beach counties have a combined population of roughly 6 million people.

"Do not focus on the exact path of this storm," Scott said in an earlier conference Wednesday. "A storm of this size could have effects statewide and everyone must be prepared."

​With a state of emergency declared across the state, residents have started stocking up on food, water and several other essentials.

​The Florida governor activated 4,000 members of the Florida National Guard with even more personnel to be added Friday in order to help with evacuations, sheltering and the overall aftermath Irma is scheduled to leave behind.

​Scott also rescinded all weight and driver restrictions and even suspended tolls for the duration of the storm's impact to allow for more efficient transport of food, fuel and emergency supplies.

The US Army Corps of Engineers also began to release water from Lake Okeechobee Tuesday to lower water levels prior to Irma's expected due date, which is slated between Sunday and Monday.

"We anticipate direct rain over the lake could add a foot to the water level. We've seen basin runoff from the past events cause the lake to rise three feet over the span of a month," Col. Jason Kirk, a Jacksonville district commander, said in a statement. "We want to do all we can to ensure we have as much storage as possible for Irma."

​"This is not a storm you can sit and wait through," Scott said. "You don't have to drive hundreds of miles or leave the state to be safe. Go to shelters."

Currently making its way toward the Turks and Caicos Islands and the Bahamas, Hurricane Irma, a churning maelstrom with 175 mph sustained winds, destroyed several Caribbean islands Wednesday. Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda Gaston Browne bleakly summarized the damage to the island of Barbuda as "absolute devastation."

​Browne described Barbuda as "practically uninhabitable" after 90 percent of the island's structures sustained severe damages.

​At least 11 people are dead after Irma swept across several Caribbean islands, and that number is expected to climb. Gérard Collomb, the French interior minister told radio station France Info that at least eight of the victims died in the French Overseas Collectives of St. Martin and St. Barthelemy.

​The destructive Hurricane Irma isn't the only troublesome cyclone tearing through the Atlantic — Hurricane Jose was upgraded to a Category 2 storm and is expected to gain winds of 111 mph or greater by Friday, according to The Weather Channel. Jose is nearing the Leeward Islands, but it's uncertain how close it will come it the West Indies landscape as it may veer northward and out to sea instead of following Irma's westward track.</s>Kenny Chesney is asking his fans to pray for everyone in the path of Hurricane Irma, which has already claimed nine lives and left hundreds of thousands without power.

Wednesday night, the category 5 hurricane devastated Barbuda, St. Martin and the British Virgin Islands with rain and 180 mph winds.

Prime Minister Gaston Browne of Antigua and Barbuda says Barbuda has been left barely inhabitable, with 95 percent its buildings damaged, according to CNN. Browne says that the cost of rebuilding could be around $100 million.

Chesney, who has a home on St. John in the Virgin Islands and is known for his island lifestyle, posted a photo of some of the hurricane’s Caribbean damage.

Puerto Rico was hit by strong winds and torrential rains, leaving hundreds of thousands of residents without power.

It is still unclear if the hurricane will make direct landfall in the United States, but reports show that it could happen by late Sunday (Sept. 10).</s>Hurricane Irma, the strongest recorded storm to hit the Atlantic, is leaving a trail of destruction in the Caribbean and there is an increasing chance that it might turn to Florida next.

As stated in the latest Advisory issued by the National Hurricane Center (NHC) on Wednesday, Sept. 6 at 11 p.m. AST, chances of a direct hurricane impact in Florida over the weekend and early next week are increasing. Hurricane watches will most likely be in effect in the Florida Keys and the Florida Peninsula on Thursday.

The advisory also states that Irma, a Category 5 hurricane, should bring life-threatening winds, storm surge, and heavy rainfall to Puerto Rico tonight. Hispaniola should experience the same by Thursday, while the Turks and Caicos and the southeastern and central Bahamas should see Irma by Thursday and Friday.

Irma hit the Caribbean with dangerous winds of 185 mph, the island nations of Antigua and Barbuda included. The small northernmost island of Barbuda, which only has a population of 1,800, was "totally demolished," as said by Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne.

The estimated destruction is at least 90 percent. The estimated damages caused by Irma on Barbuda amount to $150 million. One of the higher-end property losses is said to be a hotel owned by Hollywood star Robert De Niro.

An aerial footage of the island revealed a flooded landscape with scattered debris and overturned vehicles everywhere.

The north of Puerto Rico was also hit by the hurricane late on Wednesday. As expected, heavy rain and strong winds tormented locals. Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello told CNN that they "expect a lot of damage" but not as much as the destruction in Barbuda.

At least four people have been reported to have died on four different islands hit by Irma.

Stay tuned for the latest updates on Hurricane Irma.</s>You might not have heard of the tiny Caribbean island of Barbuda unless you've visited it on a vacation. It's a tropical island paradise, with white sandy beaches, gorgeous views and easy living.

That was, until one of the most powerful storms to ever form in the Atlantic Ocean hit.

Hurricane Irma has all but destroyed the tiny island as it churns toward the Florida coastline. As of 7:30 p.m. MDT, the storm was skating along the northern coast of Puerto Rico, lashing the U.S. territory with sustained winds of 185 mph and gusts up to 225.

Barbuda, an island of just over 1,600 people, saw that fierce power strike early Wednesday morning.

An infant was killed, Reuters reports, but that number may rise as the island begins to sift through the rubble and rebuild.

Gaston Browne, Antigua and Barbuda's prime minister, said the damage across Barbuda was "heart-wrenching, absolutely devastating," according to ABS-TV/Radio, an AM radio station in the nation.

He commended his people for heeding his warnings and preparing for the storm. They didn't take the storm lightly, but "we didn't really anticipate this level of damage," he told the network in a live interview.

Browne said the island couldn't communicate with the outside world, and that it took some time for him to get reports on the status of the island after the storm (Antigua is home to the capital, St. John's).

He said 95 percent of the island has been damaged in some way.

As Irma turns toward other islands, rolling its way toward the southern tip of Florida, it's claimed two more lives, according to NBC. Two people have been killed on the French islands of St. Martin and St. Barts.

The storm shows no signs of slowing down. It's expected to skim along Hispaniola, the island home to the Dominican Republic and Haiti, Cuba and then make landfall as a major hurricane (most likely a Category 5) near Miami.

The National Weather Service's forecast track shows Irma hitting Florida right at Miami, then rolling up the spine of the state, potentially smothering the state until it eventually goes back out into the Atlantic Ocean near Jacksonville, Florida.

That won't be the end of the storm; the National Hurricane Center only forecasts five days out.

It has Irma hitting Miami Sunday afternoon and heading just north of Jacksonville by Monday at 2 p.m. Georgia and South Carolina then come into its crosshairs.</s>Hollywood actor Robert de Niro has vowed to help Barbuda rebuild after Hurricane Irma left a trail of "absolute devastation" across the tiny Caribbean island.

Packing 185-mile-per-hour winds, the storm destroyed houses, snapping trees and killing at least one person

Gaston Browne, the prime minister of the two-island nation of Antigua and Barbuda, described the island as "barely habitable" after the powerful Category 5 storm struck.

"This rebuilding initiative will take years," Browne told local ABS Television Radio after a visit to the island.

A two-year-old child was killed as a family tried to escape a damaged home during the storm, he said.

Hurricane Irma makes landfall in the Caribbean, in pictures

Describing the scene as "absolute devastation," he said the storm, which also snapped a telecoms tower, had caused estimated damage of some $150 million.

"It is heart-wrenching, absolutely devastating." he said, adding that 95 per cent of buildings on Barbuda had been damaged.

"I have never seen any such destruction on a per-capita before as I saw when I was in Barbuda this afternoon.

"The telecommunications system is totally destroyed, we have seen cell towers snapped in two.”

“Barbuda now is literally rubble," he added.

He estimated about 60 percent of the island's roughly 1,400 people were left homeless. "Either they were totally demolished or they would have lost their roof," Browne told the Associated Press

Lying a little over 250 miles (400 km) east of Puerto Rico, Barbuda has a population of 1,800 and is one of the Caribbean's quietest getaways for tourists coming to enjoy its turquoise seas and coral reefs.

Aerial footage of the island after Irma had passed through showed a desolate, flooded landscape shorn of trees and foliage with overturned vehicles and scattered debris.

Among the higher-end property losses on the island was the Paradise Found Nobu Resort, partially owned by Hollywood screen star Robert De Niro, according to Stan Rosenfield, a spokesman for the actor.

According to Deadline, the two-time Oscar winner said in a statement: “We are beyond saddened to learn of the devastation in Barbuda caused from Hurricane Irma and look forward to working with the Paradise Found Nobu Resort team, the Barbuda Council, GOAB and the entire Barbuda community to successfully rebuild what nature has taken away from us.”

An island resident who identified himself as King Goldilocks, 60, said he had been left homeless.

"Last night was the worst night of my life," Goldilocks said on ABS, wearing a raincoat and clutching a cane. "We had minimal loss of life but we had maximum damage.”

The airport on Barbuda has been destroyed, which means that Antigua will be used as a hub, with aid being brought across to Barbuda by boat and helicopter.

Browne said Barbudan residents should be evacuated if a second hurricane, Jose, turns toward the islands later this week. Jose is forecast to become a major storm and pass close to Antigua and Barbuda on Saturday.</s>A hurricane watch was issued for Antigua and Barbuda on Thursday as a potentially powerful new storm, Jose, brewed in the Atlantic Ocean just one day after part of the dual-island Caribbean nation was devastated by Hurricane Irma.

Hurricane Irma slammed into Barbuda, the less populated sister island of Antigua, leaving an estimated half of its population homeless and killing at least one person, according to the country’s prime minister, Gaston Browne.

The National Hurricane Center, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the United States, said Hurricane Jose now threatened to make the island nation’s problems worse, kicking the surf into menacing swells and dumping as much as 10 inches of rain that “will maintain any ongoing flooding and may cause additional life-threatening flooding.”

The hurricane watch was issued by both the National Hurricane Center and the National Office of Disaster Services in Antigua.

The National Hurricane Center said Hurricane Jose was now a Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 105 miles per hour. As of 2 p.m. on Thursday, the center said the storm was roughly 660 miles east of the Lesser Antilles, the island chain that contains Antigua and Barbuda.</s>SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico: Hurricane Irma, one of the most powerful Atlantic storms in a century, killed eight people and plunged Puerto Rico into darkness on Thursday as it swept through Caribbean islands while aiming for Florida.

The dead were reported on four islands. Weather forecasters have described Irma as a "potentially catastrophic" Category 5 storm, the highest U.S. classification for hurricanes.

At least half of Puerto Rico´s homes and businesses were without power early on Thursday, according to Twitter posts and a message posted by an island utility executive.

The dual-island nation of Antigua and Barbuda was especially hard hit.

The northernmost island, Barbuda, home to roughly 1,800 people, was "totally demolished," with 90 percent of all dwellings there leveled, Prime Minister Gaston Browne said, according to island television broadcasts.

Browne said one person was killed on Barbuda. A second storm-related fatality, that of a surfer, was reported on Barbados.

The French government said at least six people were killed in Caribbean island territories of Saint Martin and Saint Barthelemy.

Power was knocked out on both.

"This is not, by far, a definitive number .... We have not explored all the parts of the island," Guadeloupe prefect Eric Maire told reporters, adding the death toll was likely to rise in the next few hours.

Early television footage of Saint Martin showed a devastated marina with boats tossed into piles, submerged streets and flooded homes.

"It is an enormous disaster, 95 percent of the island is destroyed, I am in shock," Daniel Gibbs, chairman of a local council, told Radio Caribbean International.

Irma, with top sustained winds of 180 miles per hour (290 km per hour), was on track to reach Florida on Saturday or Sunday, becoming the second major hurricane to hit the U.S. mainland in as many weeks.

On its current path the core was expected to scrape the northern coast of the Dominican Republic and Haiti on Thursday. It was also on a track that would put it near the Turks and Caicos and southeastern Bahamas by Thursday evening.

The NHC said it was the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean and one of the five most forceful storms to

hit the Atlantic basin in 82 years.

While Irma´s intensity could fluctuate and its precise course remained uncertain, the storm was expected to remain at least a Category 4 before arriving in Florida.</s>MIAMI, Florida — Outer bands of the unusually powerful Hurricane Irma battered parts of the Dominican Republic and Haiti on Thursday morning, threatening serious flooding a day after leaving severe destruction and at least nine dead across a string of Caribbean islands to the east.

Irma — a Category 5 storm that has kept sustained winds of 180 mph longer than any other on record — knocked out electricity a day earlier to more than 1 million customers in Puerto Rico as it churned off the US territory, and devastated smaller islands, including Barbuda and the British Virgin Islands.

Irma could next hit the Atlantic archipelagos of the Turks and Caicos and the Bahamas — and by the weekend may reach a nervous Florida, where people have flocked to stores to prepare and some communities have ordered evacuations.

“If you decide to stay in the Florida Keys, you are on your own,” said Roman Gastesi, administrator of Monroe County, which ordered everyone off the small islands off the state’s southern coast ahead of the storm’s anticipated approach.

Irma on Wednesday left at least nine people dead, including six on St. Martin, two on St. Bart’s and one in Barbuda. The latter is barely habitable, with nearly all its buildings damaged, the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda said.

On Thursday morning, Irma’s powerful core was moving off the mountainous northern coasts of the Dominican Republic and Haiti, and could leave up to 15 inches of rain — amounts that could trigger dangerous flooding and mudslides, the National Hurricane Center said.

Here are the latest developments:

— Around 8 a.m. ET, Irma’s center was about 110 miles north of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, moving west-northwest with maximum sustained winds of 180 mph — well above the 157 mph threshold of a Category 5 storm.

— Barbuda, one of two major islands in the nation of Antigua and Barbuda, took a major hit Wednesday, with about 95% of its buildings damaged, Prime Minister Gaston Browne said.

— Browne described the damage as “unprecedented” and “absolutely devastating,” estimating it will cost $100 million to rebuild.

— Irma’s eye passed directly over Barbuda on Wednesday, leaving the small island’s 1,800 residents largely incommunicado after it knocked over the telecommunications system and cell towers.

— Irma is one of three active hurricanes in the Atlantic basin — the last time this happened was in 2010. Jose, in the open Atlantic far to the southeast of Irma, has become a hurricane, as has Katia in the Gulf of Mexico.

— A hurricane warning is in effect for some areas in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands. Hurricane or tropical storm conditions also are possible late this week in parts of Cuba.

— Irma has maintained intensity above 180 mph longer than any storm in Atlantic basin history.

It’s too early to tell whether it will make landfall on the US mainland. Some computer models show it could churn near Florida’s southern and east coasts by early Sunday. Officials are ordering some evacuations and shutting down schools.

The tropical storm-force wind field from Irma stretches over 300 miles from end to end. If it were centered over New York City, the tropical storm-force winds would stretch from Baltimore to Boston.

“(A) storm surge could cover your house. We can rebuild homes — we cannot rebuild your family,” he said Wednesday.

Many spent Wednesday stocking up on food or making plans to head inland. Hurricane watches may be issued for parts of South Florida and the Keys on Thursday.

In Broward County, which includes Fort Lauderdale and other cities north of Miami, a mandatory evacuation will go into effect at noon Thursday for some areas, Mayor Barbara Sharief said.

Miami-Dade County ordered people out in some areas, including mobile homes and barrier islands.

Florida is not the only state preparing for possible impact.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper has declared a state of emergency for all 100 counties, while his Georgia counterpart, Nathan Deal, issued a state of emergency for six coastal counties. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster also declared a state of emergency.

A hurricane warning is in effect for the central and southeastern Bahamas, and officials there are not taking chances.

Emergency evacuations have been ordered for six southern islands — Mayaguana, Inagua, Crooked Island, Acklins, Long Cay and Ragged Island.

“This is the largest such evacuation in the history of the country,” Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said.

“Some of the (Bahamian) islands aren’t more than 9 feet (above sea level). Storm surges there may be 20 feet,” CNN meteorologist Chad Myers said.

Kelsey Nowakowski posted images to Instagram of the aftermath in St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands.

“This doesn’t look like it was ever a tropical paradise. It looks like an eerie fairytale forest,” she said in her post. “During the storm there were a handful of times when we thought we were losing the house’s roof on the floor above, but when we emerged we found our roof intact.”

Michael Coleman took shelter in a cement bunker in St. Thomas.

“The wind was so intense. Trees and roofs flying,” he said.

He posted a video on Twitter showing mangled patio and roofing scattered all around.

In Puerto Rico, about 56,680 customers are without water, with the US territory’s northeast hit the hardest, according to Jesus Poupart of the emergency operations center. Emergency officials are still taking in reports to determine the extent of the damage.

In the northeast city of Fajardo, authorities conducted at least 10 rescues, an emergency dispatcher there told CNN. Of those, five were from flooded homes, two of people trapped in vehicles, and three who were trapped in an elevator, the dispatcher said.

In San Juan, CNN’s Leyla Santiago said 900,000 customers are without power after strong winds hit the island. There were no immediate reports of injuries in the US territory of about 3.4 million people.</s>ST. JOHN'S, Antigua and Barbuda: Hurricane Irma killed one person and left behind "total devastation" as the monster storm smashed into the tiny Caribbean island of Barbuda on Wednesday (Sep 6), the prime minister said.

"It is just total devastation, Barbuda now is literally rubble," Prime Minister Gaston Browne said in the aftermath of the Category Five storm.

Speaking later on CNN, Browne said 95 per cent of properties in Barbuda were damaged, with up to 30 per cent demolished.

"It is absolutely heart-wrenching," he said.

One person is known to have died, Browne said, apparently to be child whose mother was taking him or her to safety after the building they were in was damaged.

The airport was damaged and flights were unable to land. Badly-needed aid will have to be flown in by helicopter from Antigua, he added.

"We have estimated the rebuilding efforts to be no less than US$100 million. That is conservative, because we're talking about rebuilding everything, all of the institutions, the infrastructure, the telecommunications, the roads... Even the hotels on the island, those are totally demolished, as well. It is terrible."

Located east of Puerto Rico, Barbuda has 1,600 residents and is the sister island of Antigua, which was spared the worst of the storm.

IRMA KILLS SIX IN ST MARTIN: OFFICIAL

At least six people were killed in the French part of the Caribbean island St Martin after Hurricane Irma tore through the region, Guadeloupe prefect Eric Maire said Wednesday.

"This is not the final toll. Far from it. We sadly risk further discoveries," Maire told journalists.

"The police didn't start again until the middle of the morning, we were not able, even with firefighters, to explore the whole of the island," he added.

The previous toll given by France's overseas ministry was two dead and two seriously injured on the eastern Caribbean islands St Barts and St Martin.

"The situation in St Martin and St Barts is dramatic -- there is no drinking water, electricity, public buildings are unusable, houses have been destroyed. We estimate that some 60, 70 percent of the houses have been destroyed in St Martin," Maire said.

Hurricane Irma, one of the most powerful Atlantic storms on record, cut a deadly swath through a string of small Caribbean islands on Wednesday.

The French minister for overseas affairs, Annick Girardin, was to fly to Guadeloupe late Wednesday with emergency teams and supplies to assess the situation, the ministry said.

"It's too soon for casualty figures (but) I can already tell you the toll will be harsh and cruel," French President Macron said, adding that he expected damage on St Barts and St Martin to be "considerable".

St Martin ("Sint Maarten" in Dutch), located south of the island of Anguilla, is divided between the Netherlands and France.

St Barts ("Saint Barthelemy" in French), which lies to the southeast of St Martin, is administered with the status of a French collectivity, as is the French part of St Martin.
The Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda Gaston Browne says the island of Barbuda has been almost entirely wiped out by Hurricane Irma and is "barely habitable", with "90 percent" of all structures destroyed.