[kellyhound]

Eight people are so far known to have died as a result of Hurricane Irma, although reports from the affected islands have been patchy, and the numbers are expected to rise.

Irma remains a category five hurricane with winds of 180mph (290kph).

A two-year-old child died in Barbuda.
One person died in Anguilla.
Six people died in the French part of St Martin.

The Netherlands has sent marines to St Maarten, the Dutch part of the island, where extensive damage and destruction – but so far no deaths – have been reported.

Barbuda, the first island to feel the force of Hurricane Irma was devastated by its high winds, with Gaston Browne, prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda, saying 90% of buildings had been destroyed and 60% of the population of around 1,400 people left homeless.

One person – a two-year-old child – is confirmed to have died in the storm.

Critical facilities including roads and communications systems were ravaged, with the recovery effort set to take months or years.

The eye is expected to move away from Puerto Rico and on to Hispaniola ( the Dominican Republic and Haiti) on Thursday; and to close in on the Turks and Caicos Islands and south-eastern Bahamas by Thursday evening, local time.

Some residents are expected to be evacuated to the larger sister island of Antigua – where damage was less severe – as part of relief efforts and ahead of the prospective arrival of Hurricane Jose this weekend.

Pics and vids are from Saint Martin, Sint Maarten and also shows the famous airport Princess Juliana International Airport.

[franknitti6]

thanks for the info and pics. My brother is living there for over a year . The shelter he was at got attacked by looters after the hurricane was over. He's okay though but extremely anxious and wants to get home asap.

[FunkPumpkin]

Amazing pics and vids. So sad for those people.

[Ferocity]

I was on a windward island that got hit by both Irma & Maria when they were category 5. Everyone on the island was super lucky both times. I was outside for a bit for Maria. They were like ultra windy strong storms that lasts over 8 hours.

[Ninjavandal]

A manifestation of climate change. And we haven't seen anything yet.