Hurricane Irma has left death and destruction in its wake across the Caribbean. It is now , and ultimately Florida.
Medical supplies and other aid were due to be flown to the worst affected areas on Friday, following a pledge from the British Government of 拢32 million towards the relief effort.
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Parts of Puerto Rico could be , because much of its electrical infrastructure has been damaged and it does not have the money to repair it.
The Turks and Caicos Islands government declared a national shutdown as the category five storm continued to tear across the Caribbean, with life-threatening wind, rain and a storm surge expected into Saturday. The British Virgin Islands, which saw houses reduced to their foundations and many roads impassable following the 鈥渄evastating鈥� storm, has declared a state of emergency.
Images posted on social media showed entire structures razed to the ground, with debris scattered across the streets.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said aircraft carrying around 100 personnel, made up of engineers, marines and medical specialists, will take rations and medical supplies to the area.
It has been difficult to gauge the full effect of the storm due to communication lines coming down but the Department for International Development, which is co-ordinating aid, has sent advisers to Antigua, Barbados and Jamaica to assess damage. A spokeswoman for the department said people are being evacuated from Barbuda to Antigua in advance of Hurricane Jose hitting in the coming days.
On Thursday night, the governor of the British Virgin Islands, Gus Jaspert, said they were doing all they could 鈥渨ith the limited resources we have available鈥�. In an audio recording, he said: 鈥淚 come to you with a heavy heart after experiencing and observing the extent of devastation caused by Hurricane Irma. After consultation with the premier, I have declared a state of emergency for the territory.鈥�
There has been criticism of the Government鈥檚 response to what is the most powerful hurricane ever to hit the Atlantic, with some saying more should have been done to prepare for the devastation. Addressing concerns about the speed of Britain鈥檚 response, Prime Minister Theresa May said both humanitarian workers and RFA Mounts Bay had been 鈥減re-positioned鈥�. Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon added that the military vessel is 鈥渁lready at work鈥� clearing roads and helping to restore power.
The hurricane鈥檚 ruinous touch, which has already reduced the island of Barbuda to wreckage, will also be felt in nearby Haiti as the storm sweeps north-west.
Irma was first classified as a tropical storm on August 30 and rapidly intensified over the following days, becoming a category four hurricane on September 4. Then winds reached a peak of 130mph but soon became the strongest for more than a decade when sustained winds peaked at 185mph.
Saint Martin, which has already fallen victim to Irma, is also facing a new threat in the form of Jose, while the British territories of Anguilla and Montserrat are on alert for a tropical storm.
States of emergency have been declared in Puerto Rico, Cuba and Florida, where the storm is due to make landfall this weekend.
In Fort Lauderdale, 40-year-old Erik Petersen described the atmosphere as 鈥減retty tense鈥� 鈥� adding that there was much more worry than last year, when the Sunshine State braced for Hurricane Matthew. The dual American-British citizen said: 鈥淧eople aren鈥檛 just talking about this as a hurricane, they鈥檙e talking about it as the hurricane. I鈥檝e had a few people ask if I鈥檓 considering going somewhere else in Florida, but this thing鈥檚 the size of Texas. Roads are clogged, hotels are full, gas is running low. I鈥檇 rather face this thing in a house in Fort Lauderdale than in a car in a traffic jam somewhere outside Orlando.鈥�
Hurricane Irma鈥檚 extreme size is partly the result of climate change, which has made Atlantic waters warmer and thus supplied more energy to power the storm. It comes barely two weeks after Hurricane Harvey struck the southern US, causing catastrophic damage in Houston and the surrounding area.
