Irma - one of the most powerful storms ever recorded in the Atlantic basin - swept across islands including St Martin, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the British and US Virgin Islands.

It has caused more than $10bn (£7.6bn) in damage, disaster risk experts say.

The hurricane has now reached the US state of Florida.

Hurricane Irma: A visual guide

Antigua and Barbuda

Hurricane Irma first struck the dual-island nation of Antigua and Barbuda on Wednesday. A young child was killed.

Prime Minister Gaston Browne said 95% of buildings on Barbuda had been damaged, and the island was "literally under water" and "barely habitable".

St Martin, St Barts and Anguilla

The category five storm then pummelled St Martin and Saint Barthélemy - popular holiday destinations.

The hurricane left 60% of homes of St Martin, an island shared between France and the Netherlands, uninhabitable, with no electricity, gas or drinking water.

Seven deaths were confirmed on the French part of the island, while four died in the Dutch area.

French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said there had been "massive destruction" to the islands.

The nearby British Overseas Territory of Anguilla also had extensive damage, with one person killed.

There was widespread damage reported on both island chains, with five dead in the British Virgin Islands and four killed in the US Virgin Islands.

Sharon Flax-Brutus, director of tourism for the British Virgin Islands (BVI), said the damage was difficult to assess because communications were down, but that "many homes are without roofs, or have been diminished to merely foundations".

Media caption"The wind was like nothing I've ever known in my life"

Following the storm, some residents described looting and said people were walking around with machetes to cut trees down.

Hurricane Irma skirted Puerto Rico late on Wednesday, causing waves of up to 30ft (9m) off the capital San Juan.

Although the US territory avoided a direct hit, its infrastructure was badly affected - more than half of the island's three million residents were without power and officials said many could be cut off for several days.

Both countries were battered by the storm and experienced flooding, but neither had as much damage as initially feared.

Irma caused power outages and some damage to roofs and farms in the northern parts of the countries.

In the Dominican Republic, about 20,000 people were evacuated ahead of the storm.

Media captionNasa images on Thursday show the eye of Irma over the Dominican Republic and Haiti

Turks and Caicos Islands

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.

Irma made landfall on Cuba late on Friday - the first category five hurricane to hit the country in decades.

About a million people, including tens of thousands of tourists, were evacuated ahead of the storm.

The hurricane battered the north of the island for several hours, with storm surges partially engulfing villages and whole communities left homeless.

Trees and telegraph poles collapsed, and there were power outages across Havana.

However, no deaths or injuries have been reported so far.

Source:
courtesy of BBC NEWS

by BBC NEWS

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