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Some 500,000 people were told to leave south Florida with Irma due on Sunday. The hurricane has been downgraded to a category four, but officials warn that it remains "extremely dangerous". [The US National Weather Service](http://www.weather.gov/key/) says that Irma was expected to bring wind speeds of around 165mph (270km/h) over the weekend. - ['Everything stopped' - Irma survivors](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41190649) Nasa images on Thursday show the eye of Irma over the Dominican Republic and Haiti An estimated 1.2 million people have been affected by Irma and that could rise sharply to 26 million, the Red Cross says. There are concerns that disease could spread rapidly in areas where drinking water and sanitation services have broken down, and officials have warned that the death toll is likely to rise. ## Where is Irma - and where next? Irma has passed through Haiti and the Turks and Caicos Islands and is projected to move towards Cuba and the Bahamas. The worst of the storm is expected to hit east and central Cuba, with the eye of the storm predicted to pass between the north coast of Cuba and the Bahamas, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. About 50,000 tourists are fleeing or have fled Cuba, with resorts on the north coast now empty, Reuters reports.  A huge evacuation of south-eastern low-lying coastal areas in the Bahamas has been ordered. The tourism ministry said [in a video statement](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--Jq9NdAXyo) that thousands of tourists left before the storm's arrival. Hurricane Irma is expected to hit the US state of Florida at the weekend, with the head of the US emergency agency predicting a "truly devastating" impact. South Florida "may be uninhabitable for weeks or months" because of the storm, the National Weather Service said. - [The areas most at risk](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-41191042) - [In pictures: Irma ravages Caribbean](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-41185304) - [Hurricane Irma: A visual guide](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-41172545) Before and after: Stills and footage show Saint-Martin then and now On the archipelago of Turks and Caicos, with its population of about 35,000, one witness described a drop in pressure that could be felt in people's chests. Irma ripped off roofs on the main island, Grand Turk, flooded streets, snapped utility poles and caused a widespread black-out. Governor John Freeman told the BBC that people in low-lying areas were evacuated and sent to shelters. The islands' highest point is only 50m (163ft). Virginia Clerveaux, director of the Turks and Caicos Department of Disaster Management and Emergencies, warned that even inland areas could be inundated by the storm surge. "We are expecting inundation from both rainfall as well as storm surge. And we may not be able to come rescue \[residents\] in a timely manner." - [The worst Atlantic hurricanes](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-41177100) - [Irma myths debunked](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-41187164) Aerial footage from the Dutch ministry of defence revealed the extent of the devastation in Saint-Martin Irma also caused some damage to roofs, flooding and power outages to the northern parts of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. In Cuba, thousands of tourists from coastal resorts in the exposed part of the island have been evacuated.  Britain, France, and the Netherlands have sent ships, rescue teams and emergency supplies to their territories that have been hit by Hurricane Irma. Aid efforts are being hampered by damage to local airports and harbours. ## Which areas have already been hit? The island of Barbuda is "barely habitable", says PM Gaston Browne - **The Turks and Caicos Islands:** widespread damage, although extent unclear - **Barbuda:** the small island is said to be "barely habitable", with 95% of the buildings damaged. Prime Minister Gaston Browne estimates reconstruction will cost \$100m (£80m). One death has been confirmed - **St Martin:** the island that comprises the French territory of Saint-Martin and the Dutch section Sint-Maarten suffered terrible damage. Five people have been killed - **Puerto Rico:** more than 6,000 residents of the US territory are in shelters and many more without power. At least three people have died - **US Virgin Islands:** damage to infrastructure was said to be widespread, with four deaths confirmed - **Anguilla:** one resident said the island, a British overseas territory, looked as if it had been struck by a nuclear bomb. One person has died - **British Virgin Islands:** [a state of emergency has been declared](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41196775) and fatalities are expected - **Haiti and the Dominican Republic:** Both battered by the storm, but neither had as much damage as initially feared ## What the US can expect Irma is [due to hit Florida](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41192997) as a category four hurricane on Sunday, bringing storm surges and flooding. "If you look at the size of this storm, it's huge," Florida Governor Rick Scott said on Thursday. "It's wider than our entire state and could cause major and life-threatening impacts on both coasts - coast to coast." People in Florida prepare for Hurricane Irma US President Donald Trump said: "I can say this: Florida is as well prepared as you can be for something like this. Now it's just a question of what happens." - [How do you calculate the cost of a hurricane?](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41115879) - [Teenaged surfer dies while riding a wave in Barbados during Irma](http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/41197562/16-year-old-surfer-killed-riding-wave-during-hurricane-irma-in-barbados) Hurricane and storm surge warnings have been issued for south Florida and the Florida Keys, the [US National Hurricane Center says.](http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh/MIATCPAT1+shtml/080259.shtml) Roads and airports have been jammed as thousands of people tried to evacuate areas at risk, with reports of fuel shortages and gridlock on some roads. Many tourists are stranded with no seats left on flights back to their countries as flights to and from airports in Florida are being suspended. Orlando's international airport said commercial flights would stop from 17:00 local time (21:00 GMT) on Saturday. ## Are there more hurricanes to come? Another storm, Jose, further out in the Atlantic behind Irma, is a category three hurricane, with winds of up to 195km/h (120mph). Some slight strengthening is possible in the next day or so, according to the NHC. Hurricane Katia, in the Gulf of Mexico, has strengthened a little but still is a category one storm, with winds of up to 140km/h (85mph). A warning is in effect for the coast of the Mexican state of Veracruz and the storm is expected to make landfall on Saturday. ['Everything stopped' - Irma survivors](https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-41190649) [Hurricane Irma: Visual guide](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-41172545) [No such thing as a category six storm](https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-41187164) [The most powerful storms](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-41177100) [UK increases hurricane relief fund to £32m](https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-41193717) [British territories devastated by hurricane](https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-41185042) [Reality Check: Paying for a hurricane](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41115879) [Turks and Caicos profile](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-20252929) *** - [Home](https://www.bbc.com/) - [News](https://www.bbc.com/news) - [Sport](https://www.bbc.com/sport) - [Business](https://www.bbc.com/business) - [Technology](https://www.bbc.com/technology) - [Health](https://www.bbc.com/health) - [Culture](https://www.bbc.com/culture) - [Arts](https://www.bbc.com/arts) - [Travel](https://www.bbc.com/travel) - [Earth](https://www.bbc.com/future-planet) - [Audio](https://www.bbc.com/audio) - [Video](https://www.bbc.com/video) - [Live](https://www.bbc.com/live) - [Weather](https://www.bbc.com/weather) - [BBC Shop](https://shop.bbc.com/) - [BritBox](https://www.britbox.com/?utm_source=bbc.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=footer) BBC in other languages ### The BBC is in multiple languages #### Read the BBC In your own language [Oduu Afaan Oromootiin](https://www.bbc.com/afaanoromoo) [Amharic ዜና በአማርኛ](https://www.bbc.com/amharic) [Arabic عربي](https://www.bbc.com/arabic) [Azeri AZƏRBAYCAN](https://www.bbc.com/azeri) [Bangla বাংলা](https://www.bbc.com/bengali) [Burmese မြန်မာ](https://www.bbc.com/burmese) [Chinese 中文网](https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp) [Dari دری](https://www.bbc.com/dari) [French AFRIQUE](https://www.bbc.com/afrique) [Hausa HAUSA](https://www.bbc.com/hausa) [Hindi हिन्दी](https://www.bbc.com/hindi) [Gaelic NAIDHEACHDAN](https://www.bbc.com/naidheachdan) [Gujarati ગુજરાતીમાં સમાચાર](https://www.bbc.com/gujarati) [Igbo AKỤKỌ N’IGBO](https://www.bbc.com/igbo) [Indonesian INDONESIA](https://www.bbc.com/indonesia) [Japanese 日本語](https://www.bbc.com/japanese) [Kinyarwanda GAHUZA](https://www.bbc.com/gahuza) [Kirundi KIRUNDI](https://www.bbc.com/gahuza) [Korean 한국어](https://www.bbc.com/korean) [Kyrgyz Кыргыз](https://www.bbc.com/kyrgyz) [Marathi मराठी](https://www.bbc.com/marathi) [Nepali नेपाली](https://www.bbc.com/nepali) [Noticias para hispanoparlantes](https://www.bbc.com/mundo) [Pashto پښتو](https://www.bbc.com/pashto) [Persian فارسی](https://www.bbc.com/persian) [Pidgin](https://www.bbc.com/pidgin) [Polish PO POLSKU](https://www.bbc.com/polska) [Portuguese BRASIL](https://www.bbc.com/portuguese) [Punjabi ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਖ਼ਬਰਾਂ](https://www.bbc.com/punjabi) [Russian НА РУССКОМ](https://www.bbc.com/russian) [Serbian NA SRPSKOM](https://www.bbc.com/serbian/lat) [Sinhala සිංහල](https://www.bbc.com/sinhala) [Somali SOMALI](https://www.bbc.com/somali) [Swahili HABARI KWA KISWAHILI](https://www.bbc.com/swahili) [Tamil தமிழில் செய்திகள்](https://www.bbc.com/tamil) [Telugu తెలుగు వార్తలు](https://www.bbc.com/telugu) [Thai ข่าวภาษาไทย](https://www.bbc.com/thai) [Tigrinya ዜና ብትግርኛ](https://www.bbc.com/tigrinya) [Turkish TÜRKÇE](https://www.bbc.com/turkce) [Ukrainian УКРАЇНСЬКA](https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian) [Urdu اردو](https://www.bbc.com/urdu) [Uzbek O'ZBEK](https://www.bbc.com/uzbek) [Vietnamese TIẾNG VIỆT](https://www.bbc.com/vietnamese) [Welsh NEWYDDION](https://www.bbc.com/cymrufyw) [Yoruba ÌRÒYÌN NÍ YORÙBÁ](https://www.bbc.com/yoruba) Follow BBC on: - [Terms of Use](https://www.bbc.com/pages/terms-of-use) - [Subscription Terms](https://www.bbc.com/pages/subscription-terms) - [About the BBC](https://www.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc) - [Privacy Policy](https://www.bbc.com/pages/privacy-policy) - [Cookies](https://www.bbc.com/usingthebbc/cookies/) - [Accessibility Help](https://www.bbc.co.uk/accessibility/) - [Contact the BBC](https://www.bbc.co.uk/contact) - [Advertise with us](https://advertising.bbcstudios.com/) - [Do not share or sell my info](https://www.bbc.com/usingthebbc/cookies/how-can-i-change-my-bbc-cookie-settings/) - [BBC.com Help & FAQs](https://help.bbc.com/hc/) - [Content Index](https://www.bbc.com/pages/content-index) - [Set Preferred Source](https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260128-how-to-make-google-put-trusted-sources-up-top-when-you-search) Copyright 2026 BBC. 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8 September 2017 "The wind was like nothing I've ever known in my life" **Hurricane Irma has pummelled the Turks and Caicos Islands after leaving a trail of destruction across the Caribbean, killing at least 14 people.** Howling winds and rough seas battered the British overseas territory, experiencing a top-rated category five hurricane for the first time. Some 500,000 people were told to leave south Florida with Irma due on Sunday. The hurricane has been downgraded to a category four, but officials warn that it remains "extremely dangerous". - ['Everything stopped' - Irma survivors](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41190649) Nasa images on Thursday show the eye of Irma over the Dominican Republic and Haiti An estimated 1.2 million people have been affected by Irma and that could rise sharply to 26 million, the Red Cross says. There are concerns that disease could spread rapidly in areas where drinking water and sanitation services have broken down, and officials have warned that the death toll is likely to rise. Where is Irma - and where next? Irma has passed through Haiti and the Turks and Caicos Islands and is projected to move towards Cuba and the Bahamas. The worst of the storm is expected to hit east and central Cuba, with the eye of the storm predicted to pass between the north coast of Cuba and the Bahamas, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. About 50,000 tourists are fleeing or have fled Cuba, with resorts on the north coast now empty, Reuters reports.  A huge evacuation of south-eastern low-lying coastal areas in the Bahamas has been ordered. The tourism ministry said [in a video statement](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--Jq9NdAXyo) that thousands of tourists left before the storm's arrival. Hurricane Irma is expected to hit the US state of Florida at the weekend, with the head of the US emergency agency predicting a "truly devastating" impact. South Florida "may be uninhabitable for weeks or months" because of the storm, the National Weather Service said. - [The areas most at risk](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-41191042) - [In pictures: Irma ravages Caribbean](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-41185304) - [Hurricane Irma: A visual guide](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-41172545) Before and after: Stills and footage show Saint-Martin then and now On the archipelago of Turks and Caicos, with its population of about 35,000, one witness described a drop in pressure that could be felt in people's chests. Irma ripped off roofs on the main island, Grand Turk, flooded streets, snapped utility poles and caused a widespread black-out. Governor John Freeman told the BBC that people in low-lying areas were evacuated and sent to shelters. The islands' highest point is only 50m (163ft). Virginia Clerveaux, director of the Turks and Caicos Department of Disaster Management and Emergencies, warned that even inland areas could be inundated by the storm surge. "We are expecting inundation from both rainfall as well as storm surge. And we may not be able to come rescue \[residents\] in a timely manner." - [The worst Atlantic hurricanes](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-41177100) - [Irma myths debunked](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-41187164) Aerial footage from the Dutch ministry of defence revealed the extent of the devastation in Saint-Martin Irma also caused some damage to roofs, flooding and power outages to the northern parts of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. In Cuba, thousands of tourists from coastal resorts in the exposed part of the island have been evacuated.  Britain, France, and the Netherlands have sent ships, rescue teams and emergency supplies to their territories that have been hit by Hurricane Irma. Aid efforts are being hampered by damage to local airports and harbours. Which areas have already been hit? The island of Barbuda is "barely habitable", says PM Gaston Browne - **The Turks and Caicos Islands:** widespread damage, although extent unclear - **Barbuda:** the small island is said to be "barely habitable", with 95% of the buildings damaged. Prime Minister Gaston Browne estimates reconstruction will cost \$100m (£80m). One death has been confirmed - **St Martin:** the island that comprises the French territory of Saint-Martin and the Dutch section Sint-Maarten suffered terrible damage. Five people have been killed - **Puerto Rico:** more than 6,000 residents of the US territory are in shelters and many more without power. At least three people have died - **US Virgin Islands:** damage to infrastructure was said to be widespread, with four deaths confirmed - **Anguilla:** one resident said the island, a British overseas territory, looked as if it had been struck by a nuclear bomb. One person has died - **British Virgin Islands:** [a state of emergency has been declared](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41196775) and fatalities are expected - **Haiti and the Dominican Republic:** Both battered by the storm, but neither had as much damage as initially feared What the US can expect Irma is [due to hit Florida](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41192997) as a category four hurricane on Sunday, bringing storm surges and flooding. "If you look at the size of this storm, it's huge," Florida Governor Rick Scott said on Thursday. "It's wider than our entire state and could cause major and life-threatening impacts on both coasts - coast to coast." People in Florida prepare for Hurricane Irma US President Donald Trump said: "I can say this: Florida is as well prepared as you can be for something like this. Now it's just a question of what happens." - [How do you calculate the cost of a hurricane?](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41115879) - [Teenaged surfer dies while riding a wave in Barbados during Irma](http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/41197562/16-year-old-surfer-killed-riding-wave-during-hurricane-irma-in-barbados) Roads and airports have been jammed as thousands of people tried to evacuate areas at risk, with reports of fuel shortages and gridlock on some roads. Many tourists are stranded with no seats left on flights back to their countries as flights to and from airports in Florida are being suspended. Orlando's international airport said commercial flights would stop from 17:00 local time (21:00 GMT) on Saturday. Are there more hurricanes to come? Another storm, Jose, further out in the Atlantic behind Irma, is a category three hurricane, with winds of up to 195km/h (120mph). Some slight strengthening is possible in the next day or so, according to the NHC. Hurricane Katia, in the Gulf of Mexico, has strengthened a little but still is a category one storm, with winds of up to 140km/h (85mph). A warning is in effect for the coast of the Mexican state of Veracruz and the storm is expected to make landfall on Saturday.