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Hurricane Irma: Florida braces for epic winds as superstorm hits Cuba – latest updates Hurricane Irma: Florida braces for epic winds as superstorm hits Cuba – latest updates
(35 minutes later)
2.16am BST
02:16
UK relief efforts are underway on the British Virgin Islands, Press Association reports:
Off the coast of the British Virgin Islands, the captain of the naval vessel spearheading Britain’s efforts described scenes of destruction.
Stephen Norris, commanding officer of Royal Fleet Auxiliary Mounts Bay, told the Press Association:
I haven’t seen anything on the scale of what we have seen here. It is one of those storms which I think defies all expectations.”
Engineers, marines and medics are on board the ship, which delivered six tonnes of supplies to Anguilla and carried out repair work before moving to the British Virgin Islands.
Norris said:
We will be here as long as it takes. I will stay here as long as I possibly can to support the islands.”
The UK Department for International Development said a further 20 tonnes of aide was en route to the disaster zone.
The British Virgin Islands is also on tropical storm watch as Hurricane Jose approaches, while the Commonwealth islands of Barbuda and Antigua and British territory of Anguilla are on hurricane watch.
Updated
at 2.19am BST
2.02am BST
02:02
This image shows Hurricane Irma (on the left, over Cuba) and Hurricane Jose (on the right, heading towards the Leeward Islands) – both category four storms:
Current image of Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Jose. Imagen actual del Huracán Irma y Huracán Jose. (sat 0045Z) #prwx #usviwx #Irma #Jose pic.twitter.com/RP9pt676OD
1.57am BST
01:57
Bahamas 'spared the worst'
CNN’s Cyril Vanier, speaking from the Bahamas capital of Nassau, said the island group should be spared the worst of Irma – although the hurricane has yet to pass this part of the archipelago:
We are waiting for the worst of it.
The forecasts here have been proved slightly wrong - but in a good way … We’re talking tropical storm-force winds …
We’re not expecting here in the capital Nassau anything that would really threaten the structure of buildings.
There’s still a possibility of floods, there’s still a possibility of rainfall … it’s going to happen throughout the night.
Vanier says people in Nassau are either heading for “whoever has the safest home” or to shelters, 24 of which are dotted across the capital.
Updated
at 1.58am BST
1.42am BST1.42am BST
01:4201:42
The White House says US president Donald Trump has spoken to his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, to offer US support for relief efforts in the French overseas collectivities of St Martin and St Barthélemy.The White House says US president Donald Trump has spoken to his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, to offer US support for relief efforts in the French overseas collectivities of St Martin and St Barthélemy.
The two islands suffered massive damage from Irma, with the French part of St Martin (the southern side, St Maarten, is administered by the Netherlands) said to be 95% destroyed.The two islands suffered massive damage from Irma, with the French part of St Martin (the southern side, St Maarten, is administered by the Netherlands) said to be 95% destroyed.
UpdatedUpdated
at 1.45am BSTat 1.45am BST
1.28am BST1.28am BST
01:2801:28
Latest hurricane warningsLatest hurricane warnings
The US National Hurricane Center says hurricane warnings are in effect in the following places:The US National Hurricane Center says hurricane warnings are in effect in the following places:
Cuban provinces of Camaguey, Ciego de Avila, Sancti Spiritus, and Villa ClaraCuban provinces of Camaguey, Ciego de Avila, Sancti Spiritus, and Villa Clara
Central Bahamas and Ragged IslandCentral Bahamas and Ragged Island
North-western BahamasNorth-western Bahamas
Sebastian Inlet southward around the Florida peninsula to Anna Maria IslandSebastian Inlet southward around the Florida peninsula to Anna Maria Island
Florida KeysFlorida Keys
Lake OkeechobeeLake Okeechobee
Florida BayFlorida Bay
A hurricane warning means “preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion” in those areas as hurricane conditions are expected.A hurricane warning means “preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion” in those areas as hurricane conditions are expected.
Apart from Ragged Island, the hurricane warning for the south-eastern Bahamas has now been discontinued, as Irma has passed.Apart from Ragged Island, the hurricane warning for the south-eastern Bahamas has now been discontinued, as Irma has passed.
There are also storm surge warnings in place forThere are also storm surge warnings in place for
Sebastian Inlet southward around the Florida peninsula to VeniceSebastian Inlet southward around the Florida peninsula to Venice
Florida KeysFlorida Keys
According to the NHC:According to the NHC:
A storm surge warning means there is a danger of life-threatening inundation, from rising water moving inland from the coastline, during the next 36 hours.A storm surge warning means there is a danger of life-threatening inundation, from rising water moving inland from the coastline, during the next 36 hours.
1.16am BST1.16am BST
01:1601:16
CBS in Miami reports that even emergency responders in the Florida Keys are expected to evacuate ahead of Irma’s arrival:CBS in Miami reports that even emergency responders in the Florida Keys are expected to evacuate ahead of Irma’s arrival:
1/2 BREAKING: @CBSMiami has learned emergency officials in the Keys have notified @FLGovScott that first-responders will likely evacuate...1/2 BREAKING: @CBSMiami has learned emergency officials in the Keys have notified @FLGovScott that first-responders will likely evacuate...
2/2 ...the Keys in the morning. Emergency Operations Center will close. Not willing to risk lives for this storm, officials say. @CBSMiami2/2 ...the Keys in the morning. Emergency Operations Center will close. Not willing to risk lives for this storm, officials say. @CBSMiami
Monroe County will also evacuate the jail because they don't want to leave any deputies behind to guard them. @CBSMiamiMonroe County will also evacuate the jail because they don't want to leave any deputies behind to guard them. @CBSMiami
UpdatedUpdated
at 1.18am BSTat 1.18am BST
1.08am BST1.08am BST
01:0801:08
Irma is currently closing in on Caibarién, a city on Cuba’s north coast, with wind speeds of 155mph (250kph).Irma is currently closing in on Caibarién, a city on Cuba’s north coast, with wind speeds of 155mph (250kph).
Hurricane warnings are in place for the Cuban provinces of Camaguey, Ciego de Avila, Sancti Spiritus, and Villa Clara.Hurricane warnings are in place for the Cuban provinces of Camaguey, Ciego de Avila, Sancti Spiritus, and Villa Clara.
Moving west, Irma is forecast to continue raking the north coast of Cuba, before an expected turn north-west towards Florida late on Saturday.Moving west, Irma is forecast to continue raking the north coast of Cuba, before an expected turn north-west towards Florida late on Saturday.
1.00am BST1.00am BST
01:0001:00
Irma hits CubaIrma hits Cuba
An update from the US National Hurricane Center on Irma confirms the south-western eyewall is currently moving over the north coast of Cuba.An update from the US National Hurricane Center on Irma confirms the south-western eyewall is currently moving over the north coast of Cuba.
12.59am BST12.59am BST
00:5900:59
The latest advisory from the US National Hurricane Center confirms that Irma’s successor, Hurricane Jose, remains at category four and is forecast to reach the northern Leeward Islands on Saturday.The latest advisory from the US National Hurricane Center confirms that Irma’s successor, Hurricane Jose, remains at category four and is forecast to reach the northern Leeward Islands on Saturday.
Hurricane warnings are in place for several islands already smashed by Irma:Hurricane warnings are in place for several islands already smashed by Irma:
BarbudaBarbuda
AnguillaAnguilla
St Martin and St BarthélemySt Martin and St Barthélemy
St MaartenSt Maarten
Antigua is on hurricane watch.Antigua is on hurricane watch.
A hurricane warning means “preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion” in those areas as hurricane conditions are expected.A hurricane warning means “preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion” in those areas as hurricane conditions are expected.
Jose has wind speeds of up to 150mph (240kph).Jose has wind speeds of up to 150mph (240kph).
12.47am BST12.47am BST
00:4700:47
British response criticisedBritish response criticised
Patrick WintourPatrick Wintour
The chairs of the UK’s foreign affairs and development select committees have asked the government to explain its response to Hurricane Irma, which has been widely deemed as inadequate.The chairs of the UK’s foreign affairs and development select committees have asked the government to explain its response to Hurricane Irma, which has been widely deemed as inadequate.
Tom Tugendhat and Stephen Twigg wrote:Tom Tugendhat and Stephen Twigg wrote:
Experts and many in the area have been critical of the overall level of relief currently on offer as well as the apparent lack of forward thinking once the storm’s route to Florida became more than just a possibility.Experts and many in the area have been critical of the overall level of relief currently on offer as well as the apparent lack of forward thinking once the storm’s route to Florida became more than just a possibility.
We are concerned that many in the UK’s overseas territories in the Caribbean are still in grave need.We are concerned that many in the UK’s overseas territories in the Caribbean are still in grave need.
In Anguilla, Montserrat and the British Virgin Islands and Turks and Caicos, our response still requires improvement and the arrival of HMS Ocean in two weeks’ time will be later than any of us would wish.In Anguilla, Montserrat and the British Virgin Islands and Turks and Caicos, our response still requires improvement and the arrival of HMS Ocean in two weeks’ time will be later than any of us would wish.
Prime minister Theresa May took personal charge of the UK government’s much-criticised response to the devastation wrought by Irma in the British Caribbean on Friday when she chaired an emergency meeting and declared British troops were working round the clock to help victims and restore basic services.Prime minister Theresa May took personal charge of the UK government’s much-criticised response to the devastation wrought by Irma in the British Caribbean on Friday when she chaired an emergency meeting and declared British troops were working round the clock to help victims and restore basic services.
But the UK response, given the scale of the devastation, looks flat-footed compared with that mounted by the French and Dutch governments.But the UK response, given the scale of the devastation, looks flat-footed compared with that mounted by the French and Dutch governments.
12.36am BST
00:36
Currently in Irma’s sights, after it barrelled over the Turks and Caicos Islands, are the Bahamas and Cuba.
Through Friday night and into Saturday, the hurricane is forecast to move over Cuba’s north coast and the central Bahamas, with wind speeds of up to 155mph (250kph).
Irma is currently a category 4 hurricane, a dip on its peak intensity, but still with potential for widespread devastation.
630pm - #GOES16 imagery showing the eye of Hurricane #Irma continuing to head toward the Bahamas and Cuba this evening. pic.twitter.com/NMArrmqagc
12.28am BST
00:28
Some 5.6 million people have been ordered to evacuate Florida – reportedly the largest evacuation in US history.
Governor Rick Scott told people who had not already left to get out now:
If you are planning to leave and do not leave tonight, you will have to ride out this extremely dangerous storm at your own risk.
Scott said his biggest concern, as Irma threatens lashing winds and rains, is the predicted storm surge.
This animation demonstrates how swiftly such a surge can engulf homes:
Storm surge flooding can happen fast -- very fast. This @ncargis animation shows just how much flooding can occur in only 12 minutes. #Irma pic.twitter.com/IJRFNdvRKj
12.18am BST
00:18
Barbuda victim named as Carl Junior Francis
The first victim of Irma was two-year-old Carl Junior Francis, Associated Press reports:
On Barbuda, a coral island rising a mere 125ft (38m) above sea level, authorities ordered an evacuation of all 1,400 people to neighbouring Antigua, where Stevet Jeremiah was reunited with one son and made plans to bury another.
Jeremiah, who sells lobster and crab to tourists, was huddled in her wooden home on Barbuda early Wednesday with her partner and their two- and four-year-old boys as Irma ripped open their metal roof and sent the ocean surging into the house.
Her younger son, Carl Junior Francis, was swept away. Neighbours found his body after sunrise.
“Two years old. He just turned two, the 17th, last month. Just turned two,” she repeated.
Her first task, she said, would be to organise his funeral. “That’s all I can do. There is nothing else I can do.”
12.10am BST
00:10
Virgin businessman Richard Branson – who saw out the storm in a concrete bunker on his private island, Necker – has posted from Virgin Gorda, also in the British Virgin Islands, about recovery efforts.
Branson writes:
Communications in and out of the BVI are still mostly down, but we have a satellite phone working to share updates … There is a huge amount of damage to buildings, but fortunately everyone we have seen so far has been OK.
The boats are piled up like matchsticks in the harbour. Huge cargo ships were thrown out of the water and into rocks. Resorts have been decimated.
The houses have their roofs blown off; even some churches where people sheltered have lost roofs. But the whole British Virgin Islands community is rallying round.
As with Necker & Moskito, buildings destroyed but people thankfully all seem ok so far https://t.co/U0m3Kf1APM #Irma pic.twitter.com/8dWfUIbOuP
11.57pm BST
23:57
The National Hurricane Center is warning people in Florida not to hope for a last-minute swerve from the approaching Irma.
Dennis Feltgen, an NHC meteorologist and spokesman, said:
This is a storm that will kill you if you don’t get out of the way.
Irma’s winds will rake the whole Florida peninsula, Feltgen cautioned:
Everybody’s going to feel this one.
11.46pm BST
23:46
Hurricane Jose due to hit Caribbean overnight
Claire Phipps
This is Claire Phipps picking up our live coverage.
The Antigua and Barbuda Met Office has warned that Jose – now a category four hurricane, with wind speeds of 150mph (240kph) – could make its presence felt in the northern Leeward Islands as early as midnight.
It’s currently approaching 7pm local time.
Residents of Barbuda – the tiny island left desolate by Irma just days ago – are being evacuated to the larger sister island of Antigua, which suffered less damage.
By 8am Saturday, Antigua News Room reports, “we could be looking at Irma-type winds”. Flooding is also expected.
Shelters have opened in Antigua for those seeking refuge – again.
11.31pm BST
23:31
What we know so far
Alan Yuhas
Hurricane Irma is barrelling toward the southern Bahamas on a course toward south Florida, with extremely dangerous winds of 150mph (250kph). The hurricane’s width is larger than the state of Florida, and governors as far north as Virginia have declared emergencies.
At least 23 people were confirmed killed around the Caribbean so far. The dead include 11 on French St Martin and St Barts, four in the US Virgin Islands, three on Puerto Rico, two on Dutch St Maarten, one in Barbuda, and one in Anguilla. A teenage surfer died off Barbados in waves churned up by Irma, and four deaths were reported on the British Virgin Islands that have yet to be corroborated.
In Florida, a 57-year-old man died from a fall while affixing storm shutters to a house.
Florida braced for what may be its worst storm in living memory, with a state-wide hurricane warning and evacuations that left Miami and its environs eerily desolate. “This is a catastrophic storm our state has never seen,” said governor Rick Scott. “We can rebuild your home, we cannot rebuild your life.”
Officials feared storm surges of three to 10ft (0.9-3 metres) and ordered more than a million people to evacuate from coastal areas of Florida and Georgia. Travellers clogged highways northward and the governor suspended tolls and struggled to get fuel to gas stations running out of supplies. The mayor of Miami-Dade, Carlos Gimenez, said the mandatory evacuation of some 650,000 people is the largest in the county’s history.
Shelters opened all around Florida, and officials pleaded that residents in inland areas should plan to have food and water for three days minimum. The governor closed schools and universities around the state to allow for more room. “After the storm passes, we’ll be here to lift everyone up,” Scott said. “We will get through this together.”
The storm is expected to land somewhere on the peninsula late Saturday or on Sunday. Brock Long, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said that Irma could be the most severe hurricane to ever hit the US. “It’s not a question of if Florida’s going to be impacted. It’s a question of how bad Florida’s going to be impacted.”
Cuba evacuated people from coastal resorts and warned residents to move inland. The British territories of Turks and Caicos emerged from the storm’s winds battered and after massive storm surges.
Hurricane Jose grew to a category four storm east of the Caribbean, with a path toward some of the same islands that have just emerged from Irma’s winds. On the tiny island of Barbuda, where an estimated 90% of buildings were destroyed, authorities ordered a mandatory evacuation to the larger island of Antigua.
American, British, French and Dutch relief forces and military personnel moved to Caribbean islands hit by the storm. The US is deploying an aircraft carrier for Irma relief, and federal officials anticipate a recovery costing tens of billions.
10.58pm BST
22:58
As state and federal agencies make their final pleas to Floridians, the National Hurricane Center scientist Taylor Trogdon stresses the sheer scale of hurricane Irma.
The storm, currently cast its eye across the waters north of Cuba, will make landfall on the peninsula sometime late Saturday or early Sunday.
Everyone across south Florida who prepared their home, evacuated, or both, be confident in that decision. Impacts will be wide-ranging. pic.twitter.com/0zmaujGgGe
Updated
at 11.41pm BST
10.38pm BST
22:38
Miami has become eerily desolate in anticipation of hurricane Irma, with boarded up buildings, empty streets, and plastic wrap and police cordons around gas stations.
Miami Int’l Airport essentially a ghost town after handling more passengers today than any day in the last 10 years, spox tells @ABC. #Irma pic.twitter.com/tKGJN2rczR
10.26pm BST
22:26
The 5pm forecast from the National Hurricane Center and the National Weather Service show hurricane Irma on the verge of returning to a category five storm, energized by the warm waters off Cuba and Florida.
The projection looks especially dire for the Florida Keys and south-west Florida.
5pm track from from NHC paints a grim picture for the Keys and southwest Florida. NHC brings #Irma to Cat 5 160 mph before hitting the Keys. pic.twitter.com/aZAu24xQCR
***THIS IS AS REAL AS IT GETS******NOWHERE IN THE FLORIDA KEYS WILL BE SAFE******YOU STILL HAVE TIME TO EVACUATE***Please RT. #Irma pic.twitter.com/VWLMEDWoUs