Hurricane Irma is destroying the Caribbean. With its winds of up to 295 kilometres, it is the most powerful ever to form over the Atlantic. Nearly 90% of the islands of Barbuda are devastated and a two-year-old boy has lost his life. In Saint-Martin there are six victims. He then destroyed a handful of islands in the northeastern Caribbean, including Saint Martin, Saint Barthelemy and Anguilla.
Now the hurricane is aiming at Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Cuba and then, towards the weekend, at Florida, for which the president of the United States, Donald Trump, has proclaimed a state of emergency. According to the UN, Irma could affect 37 million people. The International Monetary Fund says it is ready to help the countries affected by the hurricane.
“The budget will be cruel – announced the French president, Emmanuel Macron – An emergency fund and a national reconstruction plan will be established as quickly as possible”.
The Prime Minister of the Bahamas, Hubert Minnis, announced that his government has ordered a mandatory evacuation of the islands in the southern part of the archipelago due to Hurricane Irma.
Minnis said the Category 5 hurricane poses a dire threat to the islands of Mayaguana, Inagua, Crooked Island, Acklins, Long Cay and Ragged Island. The people living on these islands will be relocated today to Nassau on New Providence Island.
Florida Governor Rick Scott has launched a dramatic appeal to the population: Hurricane Irma, category 5, "is bigger, stronger and faster than Hurricane Andrew", which devastated Florida in August 25 years ago . “Don't sit around waiting,” he added, because “we can rebuild homes but we can't rebuild your lives. Take what you need." Statewide Scott said "every family needs to be ready by today."
Meanwhile, two new hurricanes have formed in the Gulf of Mexico Katia and José. The former is moving slowly and is expected to remain off the Mexican coast until Friday; the second is currently en route to the Caribbean.
