Nearly every building on the island of Barbuda was damaged when the eye of the storm passed almost directly overhead early Wednesday and about 60 percent of the island's roughly 1,400 people were left homeless, Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne told The Associated Press. "When you're from Florida, you understand a Category 5 hurricane," said Jackson, who was scheduled to fly out Friday. Officials warned people to seek protection from Irma’s “onslaught” in a statement that closed with: “May God protect us all.”

The Category 5 storm had maximum sustained winds of 185 mph by early Tuesday evening, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami. Irma is expected to “bring life-threatening wind, storm surge, and rainfall hazards” to portions of the northern Leeward Islands, including the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico on Wednesday. A state of emergency has been declared in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Florida as Hurricane Irma heads for the region as a Category 5 storm that is expected to strengthen further before making landfall in the Caribbean later Tuesday. Warm water is fuel for hurricanes, and Irma was moving over water that was 1.8 degrees (1 degree Celsius) warmer than normal. Irma ranked as one of the five most powerful Atlantic hurricanes in the last 80 years and the strongest Atlantic storm recorded by the outside the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, according to the NHC. AccuWeather said the storm ties as second strongest in the entire Atlantic basin, with only Hurricane Allen, which struck in 1980, showing stronger winds of 190 miles an hour. The northern Leeward Islands were expected to see normal tide levels rise by as much as 11 feet (3.3 meters), while the Turks and Caicos Islands and southeastern Bahamas could see surge of 20 feet (6 meters) and higher waves later in the week, forecasters said. NASA

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Hurricane Irma lashed Puerto Rico with heavy rain and powerful winds Wednesday, leaving more than 600,000 people without power as authorities struggled to get aid to small Caribbean islands already devastated by the historic storm. Puerto Rico's Governor Ricardo Rossello urged the island's 3.4 million residents to seek refuge in one of 460 hurricane shelters. “A lot of infrastructure won’t be able to withstand this kind of force.”

The director of the island’s power company has warned that storm damage could leave some areas without electricity for about a week and other, unspecified areas for four to six months. The northern parts of the Dominican Republic and Haiti could see 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain, with as much as 20 inches (50 centimeters) in the southeast Bahamas and Turks and Caicos. "This could easily be the most costly storm in U.S. history, which is saying a lot considering what just happened two weeks ago," said Brian McNoldy, a hurricane researcher at the University of Miami. EPA officials said their biggest concerns were oil spills and power disruptions to water supply systems. “This is not an opportunity to go outside and try to have fun with a hurricane,” U.S. Virgin Islands Gov. Rick Scott activated 100 members of the Florida National Guard to be deployed across the state, and 7,000 National Guard members were to report for duty Friday when the storm could be approaching the area. Florida and Puerto Rico had declared an emergency on Monday, when Irma was still a category 4 storm. Officials in the Florida Keys geared up to get tourists and residents out of Irma’s path, and the mayor of Miami-Dade county said people should be prepared to evacuate Miami Beach and most of the county’s coastal areas. He activated the emergency operation center and urged residents to have three days’ worth of food and water. The hurricane center said the system could become a tropical storm while meandering in the Gulf for several days before making landfall in Mexico on Saturday. Tropical Storm Katia had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph) with some strengthening forecast over the next two days. Katia was about 185 miles (300 kilometers) north-northeast of the city of Veracruz and was expected to drift toward the coast on Thursday, the hurricane center said. Associated Press writers contributing to this report included Danica Coto in Puerto Rico; Seth Borenstein in Washington; Michael Weissenstein in Havana, Cuba; Ben Fox in Miami contributed to this report.
The NHC says Irma is the most powerful Atlantic storm ever recorded outside the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. Ahead of Irma's landing, President Donald Trump issues a state of emergency declaration for Florida, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.