Hurricane Irma latest: Two dead as 'most powerful storm in 80 years' claims first victims in French Caribbean

Fiona Simpson6 September 2017

Hurricane Irma has claimed its first victims with two people confirmed dead as one of the most powerful storms in 80 years wreaks havoc across the Caribbean.

Two people have died and another two were seriously injured as record high winds and rain lashed French Caribbean territories of St Martin and St Barthelemy on Wednesday, the French government have confirmed.

Winds measuring 185 mph winds blasted the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rica and a chain of Caribbean Islands as Irma – a category five storm - raged towards Florida.

Emmanuel Macron’s government rushed emergency rations to French territories as St Martin’s world famous airport was damaged by the storm.

Hurricane Irma: High winds and heavy rain slams Puerto Rica
REUTERS

France’s overseas minister Annick Giardin told reporters as she boarded a plane to the Caribbean: “We're talking about two dead and two seriously injured for now. Obviously the situation can change very quickly.”

Footage emerged of cars submerged in deep water as flash floods deluged parts of the island along with Puerto Rica and Guadeloupe.

Huge storm: Waves battle a stranded ship as Hurricane Irma slammed across islands in the northern Caribbean
REUTERS

Residents in Florida desperately raided supermarkets and boarded up buildings in a bid to stem the chaos of Irma.

Fears are growing that the storm could smash “right into the middle of Florida” by the weekend as those living on low land were urged to flee their homes.

Experts have predicted Irma's path 

The state’s Governor Rick Scott said there would be more mandatory evacuations as Irma approached, threatening tidal surges of up to reach 10 feet on the coast.

Authorities in the Florida Keys ordered a mass evacuation of tourists at sunrise on Wednesday.

Public schools throughout South Florida were also forced to close.

Hurricane Irma - In pictures

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"We can rebuild your home, we can't rebuild your life," Mr Scott told ABC's Good Morning America.

He added: “We don't know exactly where this is going to hit.

“It sure looks like it's going to bear down right in the middle of Florida."

US President Donald Trump said on Twitter that he was monitoring the storm closely.

Life-threatening: Andrea Rivera sits at an emergency center as Hurricane Irma approaches Puerto Rico
AFP/Getty Images

He approved emergency declarations for Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and launched federal disaster relief efforts, the White House said.

Storm chaos: Irma raged across the Caribbean

Several other islands including Anguilla, Montserrat, St Kitts and Nevis, as well as the US and British Virgin Islands, and the Dominican Republic were also hit with a hurricane warning.

Irma could be the most powerful storm to hit Puerto Rico in 80 years as the US National Weather Service said the island had not seen a hurricane of Irma's magnitude since Hurricane San Felipe in 1928.

San Felipe which killed a total of 2,748 people in Guadeloupe, Puerto Rico and Florida.

The storm raged just weeks after Hurricane Harvey smashed into Texas and raged across the US killing more than 60 people and causing $180 billion worth of damage.

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