Hurricane Irma makes landfall in Caribbean

Washington DC (USA): Hurricane Irma has been marked as the strongest ever Atlantic storm in recorded History.

President Donald Trump has declared emergencies in Florida, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, while authorities in the Bahamas said they would evacuate six southern islands.

This is a life-threatening storm for the United States, including Puerto Rico, the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba and the southeastern Bahamas. Hurricane warnings have been issued for the northern Leeward Islands, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and the Turks and Caicos. A hurricane watch covers Haiti and the southeastern Bahamas.

British holiday makers in the Caribbean and Florida were urged to comply with evacuation orders. British Airways had sent an empty aircraft to bring customers back early – the full flight of 326 passengers touched down in the UK on Tuesday evening.

With maximum winds of 185 mph, Irma is tied for the second strongest storm ever observed in the Atlantic.