Virgin boss Richard Branson, who is on his private island of Necker in the British Virgin Islands, wrote ahead of the storm that he, his family and staff would be staying in “a concrete wine cellar” as Irma passed.
His son Sam has since posted on Instagram to say there were no casualties on the island, “although a lot of buildings destroyed”.
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Michael Joseph, president of the Red Cross in Antigua and Barbuda (where it’s currently 10.30pm Wednesday), has been speaking to the BBC:
We were very fortunate in Antigua. The first report coming out of Barbuda – because we lost communication last night – the first report came from the prime minister today when he took his first trip.
[He] indicated about 90% of the property was either damaged or destroyed.
We had the release of the first set of images this evening and the devastation is not like we’ve ever seen before – we’re talking about the whole country … of Barbuda being significantly destroyed.
The first thing that we need to do is get our damage and needs assessment done … we’ll be going over to Barbuda tomorrow to get a better picture of what immediate, medium- and long-term needs are. From that we will start the relief effort.
From as early as tomorrow, relief aid will start pouring into Barbuda, from tarpaulins – because shelter is a major priority; water is a major priority; as well as some health concerns. These are what the focus is on within the next 24 hours.
What we are seeing in Barbuda is something we never fathomed.
Marlon Carr, who travelled with the prime minister, Gaston Browne, to survey the damage in Barbuda, told CNN it was “a miracle” that so far only one death has been reported on the island.
He called the scenes “total destruction” and warned that some people would need to be evacuated to the larger island of Antigua, especially as Hurricane Jose approaches.
#GOES16 Geostationary Lightning Mapper is detecting copious amounts of lightning in #Irma's eye, evidence of a strong hurricane. pic.twitter.com/pwGfYHebTF
One week after the record deluge in Texas, the biggest hurricane ever measured in the mid-Atlantic is tearing through the Caribbean.
For many scientists they are a worrying sign of a “new normal” in which extreme weather events become more intense as a result of manmade climate change. Rather than expressing astonishment, they say policymakers need to strengthen long-term countermeasures and act more effectively on reducing carbon emissions.
Following Harvey, which was a category four hurricane at its peak, a second major storm of this size in one season would be unprecedented, according to Weather Underground.
But historically unusual weather is no longer freakish. The floods that hit Houston last week were described as a once-in-500-years event because records suggested there was only a 0.2% chance of such heavy rainfall. However, precedent is an increasingly unreliable guide in a changing climate. In the past three years, Texas has been hit by three 100- to 500-year events, according to local media.
More information is available on the mandatory evacuation orders issued in Miami-Dade county, which come into place on Thursday at 7am – nine hours from now.
Mayor Carlos Gimenez has issued a mandatory evacuation order for mobile homes, residents of Zone A, and the Barrier Islands, which include: Bal Harbour, Bay Harbour Islands, Golden Beach, Indian Creek Village, Miami Beach, North Bay Village, Sunny Isles Beach and Surfside.
This order is effective as of 7am, Thursday September 7, 2017.
All residents are advised to remain calm and to stay tuned to radio and television broadcasts for further advisories. Evacuees should move as soon as possible to the homes of friends or family who live outside of evacuation areas.
[On Wednesday], at 5pm four shelters opened, and tomorrow at 9am, an additional four shelters will be open.
All residents not located in an evacuation area should complete actions to protect their homes and seek safe shelter.
The French part of the Caribbean island St Martin – the northern section of the island that is split with the Netherlands-administered St Maarten – has been “95% destroyed”, Daniel Gibb, a local official, has told Radio Caribbean International:
It’s an enormous catastrophe. Ninety-five percent of the island is destroyed. I’m in shock. It’s frightening.
I have sick people to evacuate, I have a population to evacuate because I don’t know where I can shelter them.
Guadeloupe prefect Eric Maire said at least six people were killed in the French part of St Martin.
The French overseas minister, Annick Girardin, was travelling to Guadeloupe with emergency teams and supplies, Agence France-Presse reported.
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, earlier said he expected Irma-related damage to St Martin and another French overseas collectivity, Saint Barthélemy (St Barts) would be “considerable”:
It’s too soon for casualty figures … I can already tell you the toll will be harsh and cruel.
A video released by RCI Guadeloupe shows flooded streets and damage on St Martin, filmed from a terrace of the Beach Plaza hotel. Photograph: Rinsy Xieng/AFP/Getty Images
Miami-Dade county’s emergency operations center has issued mandatory evacuation orders “for all mobile homes, all of Zone A, the Barrier Islands, and parts of Zone B”. That includes:
Bal Harbour
Bay Harbour Island
Golden Beach
Indian Creek Village
Miami Beach
North Bay Village
Sunny Isles Beach
Surf Side
(The map of zones, for those affected, is here.) Zone A covers the coastal areas south of Miami.
