The eye of Hurricane Irma, a Category 5 storm packing sustained winds of up to 185 miles per hour, made landfall on the Caribbean island of Barbuda just before 2 a.m. on Wednesday, and heavy rains and hard winds slammed neighboring Antigua, where the government had warned people to prepare for an "onslaught," adding, "May God protect us all." Irma is the most powerful Atlantic hurricane ever recorded, The Associated Press says, fed by warm waters usually only found in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. It is expected to remain a Category 5 or 4 hurricane over the next few days as it wreaks havoc on Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba, and a string of smaller islands before hitting Florida on Sunday.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
5 heavy-handed cartoons about ICE and deportationCartoons Artists take on international students, the Supreme Court, and more
-
Exploring the three great gardens of JapanThe Week Recommends Beautiful gardens are 'the stuff of Japanese landscape legends'
-
Is Prince Harry owed protection?Talking Point The Duke of Sussex claims he has been singled out for 'unjustified and inferior treatment' over decision to withdraw round-the-clock security
-
US proposes eroding species protectionsSpeed Read The Trump administration wants to change the definition of 'harm' in the Environmental Protection Act to allow habitat damage
-
Severe storms kill dozens across central USSpeed Read At least 40 people were killed over the weekend by tornadoes, wildfires and dust storms
-
Rain helps Los Angeles wildfires, risks mudslidesSpeed Read The weather provided relief for crews working to contain wildfires, though rain over a burn area ups the chances of flooding and mudslides
-
Death toll rises in LA fires as wind lull allows progressSpeed Read At least 24 people have died and 100,000 people are under mandatory evacuation orders
-
Biden cancels Italy trip as raging LA fires spreadSpeed Read The majority of the fires remain 0% contained
-
Fast-spreading Los Angeles wildfires spark panicSpeed Read About 30,000 people were under an evacuation order as the inferno spread
-
Hundreds feared dead in French Mayotte cycloneSpeed Read Cyclone Chido slammed into Mayotte, a French territory in the Indian Ocean
-
Thirteen missing after Red Sea tourist boat sinksSpeed Read The vessel sank near the Egyptian coastal town of Marsa Alam
