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Hurricane Irma slams into Caribbean

Hurricane Irma - Level 4

A record-breaking hurricane is causing death and destruction in the Caribbean. Hurricane Irma devastated the islands of Barbuda and St. Martin. In Barbuda, about 95 per cent of buildings were damaged. The Prime Minister said: "It's absolute devastation. The island is literally under water….Barbuda is barely habitable." There is also massive destruction on St. Martin. An official said the focus was for people to, "get access to food and drinking water".

Hurricane Irma is a category 5 storm – the strongest on the 1-5 scale. It is the strongest ever recorded east of the Caribbean. Irma has had wind speeds close to 300kph for more than 24 hours. It is over 1,200km wide. It is likely to hit Florida on Saturday morning. Florida officials have ordered people to evacuate the southern part of the state. Residents are getting ready for winds of up to 300kph. There will also be huge and damaging storm surges.

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Hurricane Irma - Level 5

A record-breaking hurricane is causing death and destruction in the Caribbean. On Thursday, Hurricane Irma devastated Caribbean islands, including Barbuda and St. Martin. The Prime Minister of Barbuda said about 95 per cent of the buildings on the island had been damaged. He said: "It's absolute devastation. The island is literally under water….Barbuda is barely habitable." A government official for St Martin said: "There is massive destruction. We'll [focus] our first efforts so that in the next hours, people can get access to food and drinking water."

Hurricane Irma is a category 5 storm – the strongest on the 1-5 scale. It is the strongest ever hurricane recorded east of the Caribbean Sea. Irma has had wind speeds close to 300kph for more than 24 hours. This is the longest period ever recorded. Hurricane Irma is over 1,200km wide. It is likely to be a Category 4 when it hits Florida on Saturday morning. Florida officials have already ordered people to evacuate the southern part of the state. Residents there are getting ready for winds of up to 300kph. There will also be massive and damaging storm surges.

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Hurricane Irma - Level 6

A record-breaking hurricane is causing death and destruction as it passes through the Caribbean and heads towards the U.S. state of Florida. On Thursday, Hurricane Irma caused major devastation across the Caribbean islands of Barbuda, St. Martin, Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands. The Prime Minister of Barbuda, Gaston Browne, said about 95 per cent of the buildings on the island had suffered some damage. He said: "It's absolute devastation. The island is literally under water….Barbuda is barely habitable." A government official for St Martin said: "There is massive destruction. We'll concentrate our first efforts so that in the next hours people can get access to food and drinking water."

Hurricane Irma is a category 5 storm – the strongest on the 1-5 scale of hurricanes. It is the second strongest hurricane ever to be recorded and the strongest ever recorded east of the Caribbean Sea. Irma has kept a wind speed close to 300kph for more than 24 hours. This is the longest period ever recorded. Meteorologists said Hurricane Irma was over 1,200km wide. It is likely to become a Category 4 hurricane when it makes landfall in Florida on Saturday morning. Florida officials have already ordered a mandatory evacuation of Florida Keys - the southern part of the state of Florida. Residents there are bracing themselves for winds of up to 300kph and massive and damaging storm surges.

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