Hurricane Irma, the most powerful storm recorded in the Atlantic Ocean, left “apocalyptic” damage across Caribbean islands yesterday, inundating coastal areas and devastating buildings with 185mph winds.
The storm made landfall on the island of Barbuda at 2am, wreaking terror on its population of about 2,000, then headed over the British overseas territory of Anguilla, Saint Martin, St Barts and on towards the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Hispaniola.
More than 90 per cent of Barbuda is said to have been destroyed. “Barbuda is literally rubble,” Gaston Browne, prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda, said after visiting the island. “The entire housing stock was damaged. It is just total devastation.”
He added that that was no water and that all telephone lines were down. A
