Hurricane Irma pounded Cuba’s northern coast on Saturday as it headed for Florida, where millions of residents were told to evacuate after the storm killed 22 persons in the Caribbean and left devastation in its wake.Still a Category 5 storm when it crashed into Cuba in the early hours of Saturday, Irma weakened slightly as it tore along the island’s northern coastline, downing power lines, bending palm trees and sending huge waves crashing over sea walls.Maximum sustained winds dropped to around 215 km per hour on Saturday, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said, ranking it a dangerous Category 4 storm, the second-highest level.However, the NHC said Irma would regain strength as it moved away from Cuba and was expected to remain a powerful hurricane as it approaches Florida, arriving in the Keys on Sunday morning.One of the fiercest Atlantic storms in a century, Irma is expected to cause major damage due to high winds and flooding to the fourth-largest US state by population.
The destruction along Cuba’s north central coast was similar to that seen on other Caribbean islands over the last week as Irma plowed into Ciego de Avila province around midnight.State media said it was the first time the eye of a Category 5 storm had made landfall since 1932. In the days before Irma struck, the island’s Communist government evacuated tens of thousands of foreign tourists from resorts on the northern coast.In Ciego de Avila province, Irma was forecast to generate waves of up to 7 meters with flooding expected as far west as the capital Havana, authorities said on Saturday.With the storm barreling toward the US, officials in Florida ordered an unprecedented evacuation, racing to overcome clogged highways, gasoline shortages and move elderly residents to safety.A total of 6.3 million people, or about a third of the state’s population, were ordered to evacuate Florida, according to the Florida Division of Emergency Management.The US has been hit by only three Category 5 storms since 1851, and Irma is far larger than the last one in 1992, Hurricane Andrew, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
President Donald Trump said in a videotaped statement that Irma was “a storm of absolutely historic destructive potential” and called on people to heed recommendations from government officials and law enforcement. In Palm Beach, Trump’s waterfront Mar-a-Lago estate was ordered evacuated.A shelter in southwest Miami filled to capacity just hours after it opened its doors, with many people there remembering the damage caused by Hurricane Andrew, the most destructive to hit the state. “I’m scared because it is bigger than Andrew,” said Ann Samuels, 49. “They say to not stress and not worry, but how can you not?”
