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Next version
| Version 27 | Version 28 |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Irma: warning issued for Florida as storm pummels Bahamas and Haiti – latest | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 7.13am BST | |
| 07:13 | |
| Irma has now whipped a path from Barbuda in the east to, currently, the Bahamas, with the north of Cuba and then Florida still in its sights. | |
| We have been monitoring the effects of the category 5 storm on each island, as reports come in of casualties and damage: | |
| 7.02am BST | |
| 07:02 | |
| Helena Smith | |
| On an official visit to Greece, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, was repeatedly forced to defend his decision to defer a trip to St Martin and other islands devastated by the storm. | |
| Addressing reporters in Athens where he was conducting his first overseas visit, the French leader said he had decided to go ahead with the two-day trip to Greece, rather than attempt to head to the Caribbean, because prevailing weather conditions would not have permitted him to fly to French territories hit by Hurricane Irma. | |
| “As soon as the weather allows I will go,” he said, adding that he was being constantly updated and the French prime minister, Édouard Philippe, was following developments closely. | |
| Macron said he had left for Greece after an emergency government meeting in Paris. | |
| 6.53am BST | |
| 06:53 | |
| Latest hurricane warnings | |
| The latest advisory from the US National Hurricane Center confirms Irma is passing north of the Bahamas’ Great Inagua island, with wind speeds now of 160mph (260kph) – down from its 185mph peak but still a category five hurricane. | |
| Hurricane warnings remain in effect for: | |
| South-eastern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands | |
| Central and north-western Bahamas | |
| Haiti from the northern border with the Dominican Republic to Le Mole St Nicholas | |
| Cuban provinces of Camaguey, Ciego de Avila, Sancti Spiritus, and Villa Clara | |
| Jupiter Inlet southward around the Florida peninsula to Bonita Beach | |
| Florida Keys | |
| Lake Okeechobee | |
| Florida Bay | |
| Updated | |
| at 6.56am BST | |
| 6.45am BST | |
| 06:45 | |
| Irma is now into the Bahamas archipelago, passing just north of Great Inagua island at the southernmost tip. | |
| 6.41am BST | |
| 06:41 | |
| Meanwhile – in unconnected news – an earthquake of magnitude 8 has struck off the southern coast of Mexico, prompting a series of possible tsunami warnings. Read more here: | |
| 6.26am BST | 6.26am BST |
| 06:26 | 06:26 |
| The ongoing effects of Irma – as well as lack of power and communications – are hampering reports from the islands it has already passed over. | The ongoing effects of Irma – as well as lack of power and communications – are hampering reports from the islands it has already passed over. |
| Press Association has this from the British Virgin Islands: | Press Association has this from the British Virgin Islands: |
| Houses were reduced to foundations following the devastating storm. | Houses were reduced to foundations following the devastating storm. |
| Images posted on social media showed entire structures razed to the ground, with debris scattered across the streets. | Images posted on social media showed entire structures razed to the ground, with debris scattered across the streets. |
| Sharon Flax-Brutus, director of tourism for the group of more than 60 islands, said: | Sharon Flax-Brutus, director of tourism for the group of more than 60 islands, said: |
| The destruction caused by Hurricane Irma in the British Virgin Islands has been devastating. The destination has lost entire structures and many homes are without roofs, or have been diminished to merely foundations.” | The destruction caused by Hurricane Irma in the British Virgin Islands has been devastating. The destination has lost entire structures and many homes are without roofs, or have been diminished to merely foundations.” |
| She added communication between the islands has been difficult as mobile phone towers had come down – meaning it was tricky to gauge the full extent of the damage. | She added communication between the islands has been difficult as mobile phone towers had come down – meaning it was tricky to gauge the full extent of the damage. |
| 6.15am BST | 6.15am BST |
| 06:15 | 06:15 |
| Where does Irma go next? | Where does Irma go next? |
| The eye of the storm is moving on to the southern Bahamas. The US National Hurricane Center warned that storm surges could lift water levels in south-eastern and central Bahamas by 15-20ft (4.5-6m) above normal levels. | The eye of the storm is moving on to the southern Bahamas. The US National Hurricane Center warned that storm surges could lift water levels in south-eastern and central Bahamas by 15-20ft (4.5-6m) above normal levels. |
| Bahamas prime minister Hubert Minnis said his government had evacuated people from six islands in the south to the capital, Nassau, in the largest storm evacuation in the country’s history. Airports have been closed. | Bahamas prime minister Hubert Minnis said his government had evacuated people from six islands in the south to the capital, Nassau, in the largest storm evacuation in the country’s history. Airports have been closed. |
| A hurricane warning is in place in Cuba, where tourists are being evacuated and residents of coastal towns told to move inland. | A hurricane warning is in place in Cuba, where tourists are being evacuated and residents of coastal towns told to move inland. |
| By late Saturday, Irma is forecast to hit Florida, where mandatory evacuation orders have already been issued for Florida Keys and swaths of southern and coastal Florida. All hospitals in the Florida Keys archipelago will close at 7am Friday, and coast guard and rescue services have left. | By late Saturday, Irma is forecast to hit Florida, where mandatory evacuation orders have already been issued for Florida Keys and swaths of southern and coastal Florida. All hospitals in the Florida Keys archipelago will close at 7am Friday, and coast guard and rescue services have left. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 6.16am BST | at 6.16am BST |
| 5.48am BST | 5.48am BST |
| 05:48 | 05:48 |
| Naaman Zhou | Naaman Zhou |
| Guylee Simmonds, a volunteer with British charity Hope Health Action, is in Haiti, in the northern city of Cap-Haïtien, which on Thursday night bore the brunt of Irma’s outer fringes, and where at least two people have been reported injured. | Guylee Simmonds, a volunteer with British charity Hope Health Action, is in Haiti, in the northern city of Cap-Haïtien, which on Thursday night bore the brunt of Irma’s outer fringes, and where at least two people have been reported injured. |
| He says the outcome has been better than most people feared, a relief for a country that has “had some pretty bad luck”: | He says the outcome has been better than most people feared, a relief for a country that has “had some pretty bad luck”: |
| It’s rained for most of the last 12 hours, but it does look like we haven’t sustained a particularly major hit. | It’s rained for most of the last 12 hours, but it does look like we haven’t sustained a particularly major hit. |
| There have been some fairly high wind speeds and heavy rain, but it has not reached the severity we had been expecting. But there’s going to be ongoing bad weather for a couple of days I expect, and in Haiti a lot of the poorest communities here are at high risk of flooding. | There have been some fairly high wind speeds and heavy rain, but it has not reached the severity we had been expecting. But there’s going to be ongoing bad weather for a couple of days I expect, and in Haiti a lot of the poorest communities here are at high risk of flooding. |
| It’s incredibly fortunate that the storm has passed a bit further north. Our thoughts are with Turks and Caicos. | It’s incredibly fortunate that the storm has passed a bit further north. Our thoughts are with Turks and Caicos. |
| He said the hospital he worked at was preparing to see an influx of patients once the scale of damage became clear: | He said the hospital he worked at was preparing to see an influx of patients once the scale of damage became clear: |
| We were operating with skeleton staff. We reduced our outpatient care in the leadup to the storm, but our inpatient care remained. We were already close to capacity. | We were operating with skeleton staff. We reduced our outpatient care in the leadup to the storm, but our inpatient care remained. We were already close to capacity. |
| I expect outpatient care won’t resume until the following day as we assess any damage done. I expect people with worse constructed homes will have sustained more damage. | I expect outpatient care won’t resume until the following day as we assess any damage done. I expect people with worse constructed homes will have sustained more damage. |
| We’ll see what daylight brings. | We’ll see what daylight brings. |
| 5.38am BST | 5.38am BST |
| 05:38 | 05:38 |
| Irma was the first time the Turks and Caicos islands had experienced a category 5 hurricane. | Irma was the first time the Turks and Caicos islands had experienced a category 5 hurricane. |
| Ahead of its arrival, Virginia Clerveaux, director of disaster management and emergencies for the island group, warned: | Ahead of its arrival, Virginia Clerveaux, director of disaster management and emergencies for the island group, warned: |
| We are expecting inundation from both rainfall as well as storm surge. And we may not be able to come rescue [people] in a timely manner. | We are expecting inundation from both rainfall as well as storm surge. And we may not be able to come rescue [people] in a timely manner. |
| The few tourists who remained on the Turks and Caicos islands were in hotels, as were some locals, Reuters reports. | The few tourists who remained on the Turks and Caicos islands were in hotels, as were some locals, Reuters reports. |
| A Reuters witness described the roof and walls of a well-built house shaking hard as the screaming storm rocked the island of Providenciales and caused a drop in pressure that could be felt in people’s chests. | A Reuters witness described the roof and walls of a well-built house shaking hard as the screaming storm rocked the island of Providenciales and caused a drop in pressure that could be felt in people’s chests. |
| 5.23am BST | 5.23am BST |
| 05:23 | 05:23 |
| Among the properties forced to evacuate in Florida is President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, the Miami Herald reports: | Among the properties forced to evacuate in Florida is President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, the Miami Herald reports: |
| President Donald Trump’s seaside Mar-a-Lago resort has been ordered to evacuate because of Hurricane Irma, along with the barrier islands and low-lying areas of Palm Beach County. | President Donald Trump’s seaside Mar-a-Lago resort has been ordered to evacuate because of Hurricane Irma, along with the barrier islands and low-lying areas of Palm Beach County. |
| Trump has returned repeatedly to the private club – which he bought in 1985 – to relax and conduct state business since becoming president. | Trump has returned repeatedly to the private club – which he bought in 1985 – to relax and conduct state business since becoming president. |
| Mar-a-Lago, which overlooks the ocean on Palm Beach, was built in 1927. Summer is the slow tourist season in South Florida. | Mar-a-Lago, which overlooks the ocean on Palm Beach, was built in 1927. Summer is the slow tourist season in South Florida. |
| Trump also owns three golf courses in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties, as well as an 11-bedroom mansion on the French side of the Caribbean island of St Martin. | Trump also owns three golf courses in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties, as well as an 11-bedroom mansion on the French side of the Caribbean island of St Martin. |
| 5.09am BST | 5.09am BST |
| 05:09 | 05:09 |
| Irma is about to make first contact with the Bahamas – specifically, Little Inagua (fortunately uninhabited) at the southernmost tip of the archipelago: | Irma is about to make first contact with the Bahamas – specifically, Little Inagua (fortunately uninhabited) at the southernmost tip of the archipelago: |
| Little Inagua Island is about be engulfed by #Irma - the first Category 5 landfalling hurricane in the Bahamas since Andrew (1992). pic.twitter.com/YUF5URJw8H | Little Inagua Island is about be engulfed by #Irma - the first Category 5 landfalling hurricane in the Bahamas since Andrew (1992). pic.twitter.com/YUF5URJw8H |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 5.10am BST | at 5.10am BST |