Historic hurricane Irma pounds the Leeward Islands

A spectacular infrared satellite image of the eye of Irma passing directly over Barbuda on Wednesday morning. (NOAA)

At 8pm Wednesday evening, hurricane Irma was located 50 miles (80km) north of San Juan, Puerto Rico, after decimating several of the northern Leeward Islands. According to Gaston Browne, Prime Minister of Barbuda and Antigua, 90 percent of the tiny island of 1600 lay in ruins. Irma, a powerful category 5 hurricane with 185mph (290km/h) winds, passed directly over Barbuda early Wednesday. A peak wind gust of 155mph (250km/h) was measured on Barbuda, before the anemometer failed. Communications and infrastructure has been destroyed, and it will likely take months if not longer to rebuild. Browne estimated damages will exceed $150 million US dollars. One fatality was reported on Barbuda, with at least two on nearby St. Martin. On St Martin, several buildings were leveled, with major damage reported at the famed Princess Juliana Airport. Also hit hard late Wednesday were the British Virgin Islands, with reports of widespread significant damage.

According to the Prime Minister of Barbuda, 90 percent of the island was damaged by Irma. (Mirror)

Irma has maintained 185mph winds for over 24 hours now, the longest in recorded history for any storm in the Atlantic basin. The storm is still slightly weaker, at least from a wind standpoint, than Allen in 1980. At peak intensity, Allen has 190mph winds. But make no mistake, Irma is a beast. The storm is wider than the state of Florida. In the US, massive evacuations have been ordered for coastal communities from the Florida Keys to Miami Beach. A state of emergency has been declared in Florida, Georgia and the Carolina's. The southern Bahamas and Turks and Caicos are preparing for what could be an historic storm surge, well over 20 feet. Irma will impact the northern coastal areas of Hispaniola Thursday, before approaching the Bahamas on Friday. A US landfall in Florida is expected this weekend before Irma move northward into Georgia and the Carolina's.