Friday, 08/09/2017 12:03 (GMT+7)
Hurricane Irma, one of the strongest storms ever recorded in the Atlantic, has hit the eastern Caribbean.
(Photo: Reuters)
Hurricane Irma rapidly strengthened on September 5th into a Category 5 storm, with estimated winds the strongest ever measured in the Atlantic Ocean.
As Irma hit the Caribbean with winds of 185mph that sounded like a freight train, buildings were destroyed and hotels flooded.
The hurricane made direct hits on Barbuda, St. Barthelemy, St. Martin, Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands, and raked the United States Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico with hurricane-force winds and torrential rain. Gaston Browne, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, said Hurricane Irma had destroyed 95% of the structures on Barbuda, an island with about 1,600 people.
The authorities confirmed that the hurricane had killed at least one person in Antigua and Barbuda; one on Anguilla, a British possession; and two in French territory, which includes St. Barthelemy and the northern part of St. Martin. Another died in Puerto Rico while preparing for the storm.
The storm is one of three hurricanes in the Atlantic basin, the first time since 2010 that three active hurricanes have been in the Atlantic, according to CNN Weather./.
Compiled by BTA