After Cuba landfall, Florida residents brace up as Hurricane Irma approaches

Millions of Florida residents are scrambling to evacuate coastal areas in the city as Hurricane Irma approaches after making a devastating landfall in the Caribbeans with upgraded storm strikes recorded in Cuba’s Camaguey Archipelago.

Irma made landfall as a Category 5 storm in Camaguey Archipelago on Cuba’s north-central Atlantic coast packing 260km/h winds late on Friday, and back in Florida residents have been ordered to evacuate after Hurricane Irma killed 22 people in the eastern Caribbean and left destruction in its wake.

Al Jazeera’s Julia Galiano, reporting from Havana, said it would take several hours to assess the extent of damages in Cuba while the storm makes the expected right turn heading to Florida.

“We have seen a video of a very serious flooding,” she said. “Cuban officials said this morning that one million residents had been evacuated ahead of the storm.”

Read also: Hurricane Irma batters Caribbeans, 9 dead amid widespread destruction

“Cuba has a very well functioning system when it comes to preparedness for these kinds of disasters, which results in much lower numbers of victims compared to the rest of the region.”

Hurricane Irma has left widespread destruction in the Caribbeans reducing buildings to rubles and has left no less than nine people dead after days of deadly storms.

Reports say the small island of Barbuda is said to be “barely habitable” as officials have warned that St Martin is almost destroyed, and the death toll is likely to rise in the coming hours.

Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne said about 95% of the buildings had suffered some damage.

 

RipplesNigeria… without borders, without fears

Click here to join the Ripples Nigeria WhatsApp group for latest updates.

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now