Hurricane Irma Hits Caribbean Islands

Hurricane Irma
Hurricane Irma (photo: Wikimedia Commons)
By M. GraceSeptember 6th, 2017

Hurricane Irma pounded the small northern Caribbean Islands on Wednesday morning, September 6. It has been recorded as one of the strongest storms ever recorded in the Atlantic.

The dangerous hurricane's core, with a maximum sustained winds of 185 mph, slammed Barbuda on early morning of Wednesday before hitting Anguilla and St. Martin.

"The palm trees are bent over and (I) can't see anything but white," a resident named Virgina Barreras told CNN early Wednesday, before Irma's core passed over the island of St. Martin. "The walls shake when the wind blows hard, and we can hear debris being thrown around.

The National Hurricane Center stated that the category 5 hurricane is potentially catastrophic. Besides the winds, the center also warned people of high storm surges that could crush structures near the sea shores.

According to latest updates via CNN, after slamming Anguilla, St. Martin, Nevis and St. Kitts in Wednesday morning, the hurricane is expected to be nearing the British Virgin Islands and northern US Virgin Islands.

Forecasters also expected that the center of Hurricane Irma will be passing near or north of Puerto Rico.

According to forecasters, Hurricane Irma's path is still uncertain but it could turn towards Florida over the weekend so officials already ordered some evacuations and shut down schools for preparation.

"People in Florida should heed any evacuation order," Gov. Rick Scott said Wednesday.

 "(A) storm surge could cover your house. We can rebuild homes -- we cannot rebuild your family," he said.

Meanwhile in the Bahamas, emergency evacuations were already ordered for six southern islands.

"This is the largest such evacuation in the history of the country," Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said. Bahamian officials also reportedly canceled vacation time for police and defense forces.

 

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