Hurricane Irma HITS St Barts & St Martin after striking Barbuda - winds reaching 183 mphHURRICANE Irma has smashed into the islands of St Barts and St Martin after devastating Barbuda when the storm made its first landfall this morning as models reveal the "strongest Atlantic hurricane ever" will surge through the Caribbean en route to Florida.
By Will Kirby
PUBLISHED: 11:42, Wed, Sep 6, 2017 | UPDATED: 12:13, Wed, Sep 6, 2017
The National Weather Service said the eye of Hurricane Irma passed over Barbuda, a small island located near Antigua in the northeastern Caribbean, at 1.47am local time (6.47am BST).
The National Hurricane Centre said Irma was maintaining category five strength with sustained winds near 185 mph (295 kph).
Residents and tourists in the region have been told to stay inside - with the French weather office reporting that St Martin and St Barts have now been struck by the storm.
The weather station at St Bart'sis reported to be out of action - meaning any further readings may be difficult to receive.
The hurricane is traveling in a west-north-westerly direction at 15mph (24kph) and passed around 40 miles north of Antigua on its way towards Puerto Rico and Florida.
With millions of people already expected to be affected by Hurricane Irma, the US National Hurricane Centre has also issued a warning about tropical storm Jose - which is following Irma’s path and is expected to turn into a hurricane by this evening.
Jose is forecast to hit the Caribbean islands currently being lashed by Irma at the weekend, meaning relief efforts could be thwarted as the region is bombarded with catastrophic weather.
One Twitter user wrote: “Some of the biggest gusts from the west in the last few minutes. Crashing into the windows, making us both jump! #HurricaneIrma #Antigua.”
Hurricane warnings remain in place across the Caribbean and many people in the immediate path of the storm have been left without power.
Garfield Burford, the director of news at ABS TV and Radio on the island of Antigua, said: "We are hunkered down and it is very windy ... the wind is a major threat.
"So far, some roofs have been blown off.
"It's very scary ... most of the islands are dark so it's very, very frightening.”
This image, taken in Saint Martin, shows the ferocious winds hours before Irma is due to hit
The seas around Barbuda rose more than two metres as the storm devastated the island, prompting major fears of drowning given that the tiny island is only 38 metres above sea level at its highest point.
Officials are urging anyone still in Barbuda to get in contact but with power lines and mobile phone signal down, communications are proving difficult.
Early reports suggest there has been a lot of structural damage but the full extent of the devastation is unlikely to be revealed for a few hours.
Many homes in Antigua and Barbuda are not built on concrete foundations and are very susceptible to wind damage.
The prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Gaston Browne, tweeted to say the islands had been “spared the worst” of Irma’s devastation.
He wrote: “Colleagues, the Lord has protected us and we have been spared the worst of Irma.”
The storm is expected to move slowly across the Caribbean over the next few days before hitting Florida at the weekend.
Meanwhile, water is already flooding the streets of St Martin, with the former Dutch colony expecting more high winds and heavy rains over the next few hours.
Britons in the Caribbean who are in the storm's path have been urged to follow the advice of local authorities and any evacuation orders by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Aid agencies are preparing a huge humanitarian response operation to help those affected by the devastating hurricane.
Walter Cotte, the US regional director of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said the forecast was “extremely worrying” and added he was “anticipating major impacts on a number of islands.”
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