Deadly Irma guns for the US after pounding the Caribbean
The rare Category 5 hurricane has left at least 10 people dead and the bill for loss and damage hit $120bn in the US and the Caribbean
Paris — Hurricane Irma has pounded the Caribbean, destroying homes and leaving at least 10 people dead. The rare Category 5 hurricane is now heading towards the US. Up to 1-million people have been ordered to flee in the US. The International Red Cross says 1.2-million people have already been hit by Irma — a number that could rise to 26-million. The bill for loss and damage from the hurricane could hit $120bn in the US and the Caribbean, according to data modelling firm Enki Research. Irma hit the tiny Caribbean island of Barbuda Wednesday with winds of up to 295km/h, according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC). The small island suffered "absolute devastation", with up to 30% of properties demolished, Prime Minister Gaston Browne said. One person is known to have died on the island of 1,600 residents, apparently a child whose family was trying to get to safer ground. Irma then slammed into St Martin, wielding monster winds and torrential rain and wreaking destructi...
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