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Hurricane Irma Photos and Video Show Islands Devastated by the Category 5 Storm

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NOAA's GOES satellite shows Hurricane Irma on the morning of September 5. NASA/NOAA GOES Project/Getty
World Hurricane Irma Photos Atlantic hurricane season Puerto Rico

Americans got a preview of what Hurricane Irma might do to the southeastern U.S. this week as the storm moved through the Caribbean, leaving destruction in its wake. Irma, a Category 5 system with sustained winds near 175 mph, slammed into places like Barbuda and St. Martin, and left more than 1 million people in Puerto Rico without power.

As of 5 p.m. EDT, Irma was about 40 miles south of Grand Turk Island and about 135 miles east of Great Inagua Island, according to the National Hurricane Center. It was moving west-northwest at about 16 mph, bringing with it a dangerous storm surge, strong winds and up to 20 inches of rain.

It's official: No storm on record, anywhere on the globe, has maintained winds 185mph or above for as long as #Irma https://t.co/34Z8V7PXFs pic.twitter.com/X8ENs0TCxM

— CNN (@CNN) September 7, 2017

Those conditions and others had already killed over a dozen people.

"There is no power, no gasoline, no running water," Prime Minister Mark Rutte of the Netherlands, which owns Sint Maarten, said in a news conference, according to CBS News. "Houses are under water, cars are floating through the streets, inhabitants are sitting in the dark, in ruined houses and are cut off from the outside world."

My God ... #JostVanDyke #BVI #HurricaneIrma pic.twitter.com/QuaanOLFb6

— Michael S. Smith II (@MichaelSSmithII) September 7, 2017
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A rescue team from the local emergency management agency inspects flooded areas after the passing of Hurricane Irma on September 6, 2017 in Fajardo, Puerto Rico. Jose Jimenez/Getty

La plage de Maho Beach sous des conditions extrêmes à #SaintMartin. Vidéo complète 2017 Ptztv https://t.co/4gYqMhaWlI#Irma pic.twitter.com/SMcxoa6LoI

— Keraunos (@KeraunosObs) September 6, 2017
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An aerial photography taken and released by the Dutch department of Defense on September 6, 2017 shows the damage of Hurricane Irma in Philipsburg on the Dutch Caribbean island of Sint Maarten. Gerben van Es/AGP/Getty

One ocean, three hurricanes: Irma, Jose, and Katia seen by @NASANPP https://t.co/xr7gtEPvtN pic.twitter.com/ne7zLfOOUQ

— Joshua Stevens (@jscarto) September 7, 2017
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A photo taken on September 6, 2017 shows broken palm trees on the beach of the Hotel Mercure in Marigot, near the Bay of Nettle, on the French Collectivity of Saint Martin, after the passage of Hurricane Irma. Lionel Chamoiseau/AFP/Getty

Communication with Barbuda, which has about 1,600 people, has been intermittent. Barbuda and Antigua Prime Minister Gaston Browne viewed the island via helicopter and told the Antigua/Barbuda Broadcasting Services that it was "practically uninhabitable."

"From my observation, having done an aerial survey, I would say that about 95 percent of the properties would have suffered some level of damage, they would have lost at least a part of their roofs, some have lost whole roofs, some properties have been totally demolished, it is absolutely heart-wrenching," Browne said, according to Antigua Newsroom.

Hurricane #Irma starts to hit San Juan, Puerto Rico, causing palm trees to nearly blow over in the wind. https://t.co/63YZ2lPqXI pic.twitter.com/HJjzGPMv9g

— ABC News (@ABC) September 6, 2017
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A woman walks next to the Mapou River, in Shadaa neighborhood, in Cap-Haitien, in the north of Haiti, 240 km from Port-au-Prince, ahead of Hurricane Irma on September 5, 2017. Hector Retamal/AFP/Getty

Man films Hurricane #Irma’s destruction in St. Thomas to warn Florida what’s coming https://t.co/8dn4JPUS2y pic.twitter.com/8PEWv5TFj7

— CNN (@CNN) September 7, 2017
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Waves crash against the shore and a stranded boat as Hurricane Irma moves off from the northern coast of the Dominican Republic, in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, on September 7, 2017. Ivan Alvarado/Reuters

RIGHT NOW: Several roads are jammed near Gore Street in #Orlando as drivers rush to get sandbags. #WFTV pic.twitter.com/XqMgSVGqXr

— Mike Manzoni NBC10 Boston (@MikeNBCBoston) September 7, 2017
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People walk on a street covered in debris as Hurricane Irma moves off from the northern coast of the Dominican Republic, in Nagua, Dominican Republic on September 7, 2017. Ricardo Rojas/Reuters

In Florida, local authorities were hoping to prevent such devastation by urging residents to evacuate and to prepare. The Florida Keys, Lake Okeechobee, Florida Bay and Jupiter Inlet southward to Bonita Beach were all placed under a hurricane watch Thursday. Governor Rick Scott asked police to escort fuel trucks to sold-out gas stations, activated the National Guard and suspended tolls in order to get people moving away from Irma.

"I'm urging families to stay vigilant and monitor local weather and news," Scott tweeted.

#BreakingNews - Hurricane Irma has destroyed the Island of #SaintMartin #HurricaneIrma pic.twitter.com/qF8mG7Z22U

— Kevin W (@kwilli1046) September 6, 2017
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A man carrying an umbrella walks on a street as Hurricane Irma howls past Puerto Rico after thrashing several smaller Caribbean islands, in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, on September 6, 2017. Alvin Baez/Reuters

4,000 @FLGuard members now activated for Hurricane #Irma https://t.co/625yHIm2xX @MiamiHerald pic.twitter.com/vOIOxdUbwb

— Kristen M. Clark (@ByKristenMClark) September 7, 2017
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