Hurricane Irma, the strongest Atlantic Ocean hurricane ever has killed at least 22 people as it devastated much of the Caribbean, has reached landfall in the Florida for the first time.

Florida residents have already been pummelled with brutal wind and rainfall, but are now expecting worse as they brace themselves for the full force of Hurricane Irma.

Floridians, hoping to offer the world Hurricane Irma damage updates, have taken to Twitter as power lines and trees have been downed by the devastating weather.

One video shot by a Miami Herald journalist shows the moment her neighbourhood loses power over Irma damages as an electricity transformer. </s> Hurricane Irma strengthened and made landfall in Cuba as a Category 5 storm, as millions of Florida residents were ordered to evacuate after the storm killed 22 people in the eastern Caribbean and left destruction in its wake.

Irma struck Camaguey Archipelago on Cuba's north-central Atlantic coast packing 260km/h winds late on Friday, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. Category 5 is the NHC's most powerful designation.

Irma, one of the fiercest Atlantic storms in a century, was expected to hit Florida on Sunday morning, bringing massive damage from wind and flooding to the fourth-largest state by population.

The scenes along Cuba's coast were gradually coming to resemble horrors of other Caribbean islands over the last week as Irma barreled in for a direct hit at Ciego de Avila province around midnight.

READ MORE: Deaths and destruction as Hurricane Irma powers through

Choppy seas, grey skies, sheets of rain, bending palm trees, huge waves crashing over sea walls and downed power lines filled state-run television’s evening news cast.

Irma was forecast to bring dangerous storm surges of up to three metres on parts of Cuba's northern coast and the central and northwestern Bahamas.

Meteorologists warned that by Saturday morning, scenes of far greater devastation were sure to emerge as Irma worked her way along the northern coast westward through Sancti Spiritus and Villa Clara provinces where it is forecast to turn northward toward Florida.

The area is home to pristine keys with more than 50 hotels and beaches.

Irma was about 485km southeast of Miami, the NHC said in its latest advisory.

With the storm barreling toward the United States, officials ordered an historic evacuation in Florida that has been made more difficult by clogged highways, gasoline shortages and the challenge of moving older people.

The United States 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).

"We are running out of time. If you are in an evacuation zone, you need to go now. This is a catastrophic storm like our state has never seen," Governor Rick Scott told reporters, adding the effects would be felt from coast to coast in the state.

A total of 5.6 million people, or 25 percent of the state's population, were ordered to evacuate Florida, according to the Florida Division of Emergency Management.

US 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.

Irma was set to hit the United States two weeks after Hurricane Harvey, a powerful Category 4 storm, struck Texas, killing about 60 people and causing property damage estimated at up to $180bn in Texas and Louisiana.

Officials were preparing a massive response, the head of FEMA said.

About 9 million people in Florida may lose power, some for weeks, said Florida Power & Light Co, which serves almost half of the state's 20.6 million residents.

Amid the exodus, nearly one-third of all gas stations in Florida's metropolitan areas were out of gasoline, with scattered outages in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, according to Gasbuddy.com, a retail fuel price tracking service.

READ MORE: Irma heads to Florida, kills 22 across Caribbean

In Fort Lauderdale, most large grocery, hardware and supply stores were closed and do not plan to open until early next week, after the hurricane has passed.

A shelter in southwest Miami filled to capacity just hours after it opened its doors, with people there recalling Hurricane Andrew in 1992, the most destructive to ever hit the state.

Mandatory evacuations on Georgia's Atlantic coast and some of South Carolina's barrier islands were due to begin on Saturday. Virginia and Alabama were under states of emergency.

The governors of North and South Carolina warned residents to remain on guard even as the storm took a more westward track, saying their states still could experience severe weather, including heavy rain and flash flooding, early next week.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 ended slightly lower as investors braced for potential damage and massive insurance claims from Irma.

Many economists are predicting that third-quarter gross domestic product will take a hit due to the hurricanes.

As it roared in from the east, Irma ravaged small islands in the northeastern Caribbean, including Barbuda, St. Martin and the British and US Virgin Islands, flattening homes and hospitals and ripping down trees.

But even as they came to grips with the massive destruction, residents of the islands faced the threat of another major storm, Hurricane Jose.

Jose, expected to reach the northeastern Caribbean on Saturday, was an extremely dangerous storm nearing Category 5 status, with winds of up to 250km/h, the NHC said on Friday. </s> Hurricane Irma causes catastrophic destruction in Florida as it makes landfall.

Large waves produced by Hurricane Irma crash into the end of Anglins Fishing Pier Sept. 10, 2017 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The category 4 hurricane made landfall in the United States in the Florida Keys at 9:10 a.m. after raking across the north coast of Cuba. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — Tens of thousands in Florida are huddled in shelters as the hurricane makes a catastrophic hit on the state.

Like WTOP on Facebook and follow @WTOP on Twitter to engage in conversation about this article and others. </s> Damage along the Camaguey Archipelago, which was pummelled by wind speeds of more than 160 mph (260km/h), is expected to mirror the carnage wrought across other Caribbean islands as the Category 5 storm heads for a direct hit on Ciego de Avila province. Irma’s winds are so devastating they destroyed Cuban meteorological equipment used to record wind speeds. Power lines and palm trees have been uprooted by the hurricane as sheets of rain lash the area rand huge waves crash over sea walls. But meteorologists have warned scenes of far greater devastation are sure to emerge as Irma works her way along the northern coast westward through Sancti Spiritus and Villa Clara provinces where it is forecast to turn north toward Florida.

In Gibara, province of Holguin, first reports of damage are coming in with local hospitals and schools suffering structural damage along with other properties and businesses. The area around the pier has also been badly damaged by the heavy seas where officials reported waves were reaching a terrifying 26ft (8m). Irma, one of the fiercest Atlantic storms in a century, is expected to hit Florida on Sunday morning, bringing massive damage from wind and flooding to the fourth-largest state by population. Irma was about 275 miles (440 km) south-southeast of Miami, the US National Hurricane Center said in its latest advisory.

With the storm barreling toward the United States, officials ordered an historic evacuation in Florida that has been made more difficult by clogged highways, gasoline shortages and the challenge of moving older people. The United States 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). Governor Rick Scott said: “We are running out of time. If you are in an evacuation zone, you need to go now. This is a catastrophic storm like our state has never seen.”

A total of 5.6 million people, or 25 percent of the state's population, were ordered to evacuate Florida, according to the Florida Division of Emergency Management. US 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. Irma will hit the US two weeks after Hurricane Harvey, a Category 4 storm, struck Texas, killing about 60 people and causing property damage estimated at up to £150 billion in Texas and Louisiana.

Officials were preparing a massive response, the head of FEMA said. As it roared in from the east, Irma ravaged small islands in the northeastern Caribbean, including Barbuda, St Martin and the British and US Virgin Islands, flattening homes and hospitals and ripping down trees. But even as they came to grips with the massive destruction, residents of the islands faced the threat of another major storm, Hurricane Jose. The NHC Jose, expected to reach the northeastern Caribbean later today, is an extremely dangerous storm nearing Category 5 status, with winds of up to 150 mph (240km/h). </s> The largest evacuation in US history is underway as millions of people across the Southeast brace for the life-threatening impacts of Irma.

A state of emergency has been declared in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia ahead of the arrival of Irma to prepare for the storm.

“Irma is only one of five known hurricanes during the satellite era to have reached sustained winds of 185 mph or higher,” said AccuWeather Hurricane Expert Dan Kottlowski.

The first evacuations were issued on Wednesday in the Florida Keys, but more followed across the state on Thursday and Friday. At least 5.6 million people have been asked to evacuate which is more than 25 percent of the state’s population.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott has suspended tolls across the state’s highways to expedite the evacuation and supply-gathering process for residents. Additionally, all schools and government offices are closed in Florida on Monday.

The islands of Saint Barthelemy, Saint Martin and Anguilla in the northern Leeward Islands took a direct hit from Irma on Wednesday morning. Irma’s 150 mph-plus winds and at least 12-foot storm surge caused catastrophic damage.

So far, Irma has killed at least 20 people in the Caribbean, the AP reported. Another person was killed in Florida after falling 15 feet while putting up storm shutters.

Click here to see previous reports of how Florida is preparing for Irma.

11:00 p.m. EDT Friday: Irma has made landfall in central Cuba as a Category 5 hurricane. It has maximum sustained winds of 160 mph.

10:40 p.m. EDT Friday: The power is reportedly out in Caibarién and other towns along Cuba’s northern coast.

Two of Florida’s power plants say there are prepared for Irma’s coming wrath. Florida Power and Light control both in St. Lucie and Turkey Point. The president of FPL says there are some of the “the strongest structures in the world,” encased in six feet of cement and reinforced in steel.

9:30 p.m. EDT Friday: The eye of Hurricane Irma is nearing the coast of Cuba with maximum sustained winds of 155 mph. This makes it a strong Category 4 hurricane, just shy of Category 5 status.

Meanwhile, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has issued a state of emergency, becoming the sixth state to do so ahead of Irma’s arrival in the United States.

7:40 p.m. EDT Friday: Officials have ordered 5.6 million people to evacuate Florida ahead of Hurricane Irma, according to the Associated Press. This is more than 25 percent of the state’s population.

This is now the largest evacuation in United States history, more than Hurricane Rita in 2005 when 3.7 million people were told to evacuate.

Some highways around Miami had very little traffic throughout the day as many people have evacuated the city.

5:45 p.m EDT Friday: The National Weather Service in Key West is warning residents of the Florida Keys that the time to evacuate is quickly running out.

“Catastrophic, life-threatening wind and storm surge impacts are expected in the Florida Keys Saturday night and Sunday. Nowhere in the Florida Keys will be safe,” the NWS Office said.

Meanwhile, the state of emergency has been expanded in Georgia to include 94 of Georgia’s 159 counties.

3:34 p.m. EDT Friday: Florida Gov. Rick Scott is not only worried about wind speed and rain, he is emphasizing the dangers of storm surge.

Walt Disney World will close early on Saturday evening and stay closed on Sunday and Monday.

Universal Orlando will close at 7 p.m. on Saturday and remain on closed Sunday and Monday.

Sea World Orlando will also close early on Saturday and stay closed on Sunday and Monday.

2:58 p.m. EDT Friday: South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said in a press conference on Friday afternoon that he’s holding off on deciding whether to evacuate the state’s coast.

McMaster said he will wait for the National Hurricane Center’s 5 p.m. advisory before announcing his decision, but that state officials are prepared to evacuate if need be.

“Until we say otherwise, coastal residents should plan on evacuating Saturday at 10 a.m.,” he said. “That may change at 6 o’clock this evening.”

For some counties, McMaster rescinded part of an executive order that required medical facilities to evacuate. </s> Hurricane Irma, one of the most powerful Atlantic storms in a century, killed eight people and plunged Puerto Rico into darkness on Thursday as it swept through Caribbean islands while aiming for Florida.

The dead were reported on four islands. Weather forecasters have described Irma as a "potentially catastrophic" Category 5 storm, the highest U.S. classification for hurricanes.

At least half of Puerto Rico's homes and businesses were without power early on Thursday, according to Twitter posts and a message posted by an island utility executive.

The dual-island nation of Antigua and Barbuda was especially hard hit. The northernmost island, Barbuda, home to roughly 1,800 people, was "totally demolished," with 90 percent of all dwellings there leveled, Prime Minister Gaston Browne said, according to island television broadcasts.

Browne said one person was killed on Barbuda. A second storm-related fatality, that of a surfer, was reported on Barbados. The French government said at least six people were killed in Caribbean island territories of Saint Martin and Saint Barthelemy. Power was knocked out on both.

"This is not, by far, a definitive number .... We have not explored all the parts of the island," Guadeloupe prefect Eric Maire told reporters, adding the death toll was likely to rise in the next few hours.

Early television footage of Saint Martin showed a devastated marina with boats tossed into piles, submerged streets and flooded homes.

"It is an enormous disaster, 95 percent of the island is destroyed, I am in shock," Daniel Gibbs, chairman of a local council, told Radio Caribbean International.

Irma, with top sustained winds of 180 miles per hour (290 km per hour), was on track to reach Florida on Saturday or Sunday, becoming the second major hurricane to hit the U.S. mainland in as many weeks.

On its current path the core was expected to scrape the northern coast of the Dominican Republic and Haiti on Thursday. It was also on a track that would put it near the Turks and Caicos and southeastern Bahamas by Thursday evening.

The NHC said it was the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean and one of the five most forceful storms to hit the Atlantic basin in 82 years.

While Irma's intensity could fluctuate and its precise course remained uncertain, the storm was expected to remain at least a Category 4 before arriving in Florida. </s> Hurricane Irma lashed Cuba as it roared toward Florida on Friday after hitting the eastern Caribbean with its devastatingly high winds, killing 21 people and leaving catastrophic destruction in its wake. Irma, one of the most powerful Atlantic storms in a century, was expected to hit Florida on Sunday morning, bringing massive damage from wind and flooding to the fourth-largest state by population. A historic evacuation, including from areas around Miami, has been made more difficult by clogged highways, gasoline shortages and the challenge of moving older people in the top retirement destination.

The storm could regain strength and hit the Florida Keys as a Category 5 hurricane, the most powerful designation by the National Hurricane Center, with sustained winds of 160 miles per hour (258 km per hour). The United States has experienced only three Category 5 storms since 1851, and Irma is far larger than the last one to hit the United States in 1992, Hurricane Andrew, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

“We are running out of time. If you are in an evacuation zone, you need to go now. This is a catastrophic storm like our state has never seen,” Governor Rick Scott told reporters, adding that the storm’s effects would be felt from coast to coast in the state. A total of 5.6 million people, or 25 percent of the state’s population, was ordered to evacuate Florida, the Associated Press reported, citing Andrew Sussman, the state’s hurricane program manager.

US 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.

Irma, currently a Category 4 storm with winds of 155 mph (250 kph), was about 315 miles (510 km) southeast of Miami, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in its latest advisory. After passing the Bahamas earlier in the day, Irma periodically drenched Cuba with rain and wind from the outer edge of the storm. Irma was forecast to bring dangerous storm surges of up to 20 feet (6 meters) to the southeastern and central Bahamas and up to 10 feet (3 meters) on parts of Cuba’s northern coast.

Cuba’s Communist government has traditionally made rigorous preparations when the island is threatened by storms, and the country was at a near standstill as Irma began to drive up the northern coast from east to west. Irma was forecast to move closer to land as it passed the center of Cuba later in the day and on Saturday, when it could seriously damage resorts on vulnerable keys. Tourists, and even the dolphins that entertain them, were evacuated. The storm was then predicted to veer north, sparing western Cuba and Havana.

In the Cuban fishing town of Caibarien, residents secured their roofs and moved belongings from low-lying coastal areas to houses higher up inland as the skies clouded over. Most said they were worried but well prepared. Residents in the central province of Camaguey hunkered down on Friday night for the arrival of the storm. “There are really strong gusts of wind. It is pouring off and on, and the lights are out,” Anaida Gonzalez, a retired nurse, said by telephone.

Irma was set to hit the United States two weeks after Hurricane Harvey struck Texas, killing about 60 people and causing property damage estimated at up to $180 billion in Texas and Louisiana. Officials were preparing a massive response, the head of FEMA said. About 9 million people in Florida may lose power, some for weeks, said Florida Power & Light Co, the biggest power company in Florida serving almost half of the state’s 20.6 million residents.

Amid the exodus, nearly one-third of all gas stations in Florida’s metropolitan areas were out of gasoline, with scattered outages in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, according to Gasbuddy.com, a retail fuel price tracking service. In Miami-Dade County alone, Mayor Carlos Gimenez said authorities had asked about 660,000 residents to evacuate, adding that this was the largest evacuation he could remember in the county.

Supermarkets in Miami were full of shoppers picking up last-minute supplies and food, and long lines of cars wrapped around the few gas stations still open. People seeking shelter recalled Hurricane Andrew in 1992 as they braced for Irma. A shelter in southwest Miami filled to capacity just hours after it opened its doors. People packed into a gymnasium were thinking about the past while worrying about the future.

“I’m scared because it is bigger than Andrew,” said Ann Samuels, 49, as she arrived to the Robert Morgan Education Center. On the short trip from her home she said her mind went back to 1992 when Hurricane Andrew forced her and her two young children and eight others into a closet. “They say to not stress and not worry, but how can you not?” she added.

Steve Ortega, 29, decided to go home after peeking into the packed shelter. He was 5 years old when Andrew damaged his home. “I will never forget the noise. That … was the scariest thing I ever heard in my life,” adding he was worried but optimistic his home would remain standing through Irma. Mandatory evacuations on Georgia’s Atlantic coast and some of South Carolina’s barrier islands were due to begin on Saturday. Virginia was under a state of emergency.

The governors of North and South Carolina warned residents to remain on guard even as the storm took a more westward track, saying their states still could experience severe weather, including heavy rain and flash flooding, early next week. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 ended slightly lower as investors braced for potential damage from Irma as it moved toward Florida. Many economists are predicting that third-quarter gross domestic product will take a hit due to the hurricanes.

As it roared in from the east, Irma ravaged small islands in the northeastern Caribbean, including Barbuda, St. Martin and the British and US Virgin Islands, flattening homes and hospitals and ripping down trees. Even as they came to grips with the massive destruction, residents of the islands hit hardest by Irma faced the threat of another major storm, Hurricane Jose. Jose, expected to reach the northeastern Caribbean on Saturday, was an extremely dangerous Category 4 storm, with winds of up to 150 mph (240 kph), the NHC said on Friday.

For all the latest World News, download Indian Express App </s> (Reuters) - Hurricane Irma threatens to knock out power to more than 4.1 million homes and businesses served by Florida Power & Light (FPL), affecting around nine million people based on the current storm track, the utility's chief executive said on Friday.

"Everyone in Florida will be impacted in some way by this storm," Eric Silagy said at a news conference, urging FPL customers to be prepared for a multiweek restoration process.

FPL is the biggest power company in Florida serving almost half of the state's 20.6 million residents.

Outages across the state will likely top 4.1 million customers since other utilities, including units of Duke Energy Corp, Southern Co and Emera Inc, will also suffer outages but have not yet estimated how many.

Irma poses a significantly bigger menace to power supplies in Florida than Hurricane Harvey did in Texas because Irma is packing 150 mile-per-hour winds (240 km/h) that could down electric lines and close nuclear and other power plants.

"This storm is unprecedented as far as strength and size. We are preparing for the worst and will likely have to rebuild parts of our service territory," Silagy said, noting the kinds of winds expected could snap concrete poles.

Irma's winds have rivaled the strongest for any hurricane in history in the Atlantic, whereas Harvey's damage came from record rainfall. Even as Houston flooded, the power stayed on for most, allowing citizens to use TV and radio to stay apprised of danger, or social media to call for help.

"When Harvey made landfall in Texas it made it fully inland and weakened pretty quickly. Irma, however, could retain much of its strength," said Jason Setree, a meteorologist at Commodity Weather Group.

Irma has killed several people and devastated islands in the Caribbean.

Current forecasts put almost the entirety of the Florida peninsula in the path of the storm, which made landfall in the Caribbean with wind speeds of 185 mph.

The threat of the Category 4 storm, the second highest rung on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, is grave enough that FPL plans to shut its two nuclear power plants in the state, and officials warned that it may have to rebuild parts of its power system, which could take weeks.

One of those nuclear plants, Turkey Point, is located south of Miami near the southern tip of Florida, putting it near where Irma is expected to make landfall early Sunday morning. The other nuclear plant, St. Lucie, is on a barrier island on the east coast about 120 miles (193 km) north of Miami.

Most Florida residents have not experienced a major storm since 2005, when total outages peaked around 3.6 million during Hurricane Wilma. Some of those outages lasted for weeks.

Setree compared the projected path of Irma to Hurricane Matthew in 2016, which knocked out power to about 1.2 million FPL customers in October.

FPL, a unit of Florida energy company NextEra Energy Inc, restored service to most customers affected by Matthew in just two days.

In a statement this week, FPL estimated about half of its near five million customers - particularly in the trio of populous southeast counties Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and Broward - had not experienced a major hurricane since 2005.

FPL said it had invested nearly $3 billion since 2006 to strengthen its grid, including placing 60 main power lines underground and installing nearly five million smart meters and other devices.

Other utilities in the Sunshine State said in statements that they had also invested in intelligent, self-healing devices.

Smart meters allow utilities to see outages as they occur, rather than waiting on customer calls, and utilities also use automated devices that can reenergize lines without damage that were taken offline because of contact with trees or other objects, said Jay Apt, director of the Carnegie Mellon Electricity Industry Center in Pittsburgh.

Olivia Ross, a spokeswoman for CenterPoint Energy, which serves the greater Houston area, said these devices helped the utility keep the lights on for more people in the aftermath of Harvey as some issues were resolved remotely.

But such devices can only do so much. Harvey's outages were limited to 312,000 customers, of which CenterPoint was responsible for about 109,000, as it quickly lost force after landfall and turned into a tropical storm. By contrast, Ross noted, Hurricane Ike in 2008 caused 2.1 million of CenterPoint's customers to lose power when it hit the Texas coast near Houston. </s> Hurricane Irma pummeled the north coast of Cuba Saturday, inflicting "significant damage" as millions of people in the US state of Florida hunkered down for a direct hit from the monster storm.

Irma's blast through the Cuban coastline weakened the storm to a Category Three, but it is still packing 125 mile-an-hour winds (205 kilometer per hour) and was expected to regain power before hitting the Florida Keys early Sunday, US forecasters.

At least 19 people have been killed since Irma began its devastating march through the Caribbean as a Category Five storm of nearly unmatched power, making landfall late Friday in Cuba on the Camaguey archipelago.

Terrified Cubans who rode out Irma in coastal towns reported "deafening" winds, uprooted trees and power lines, and blown rooftops.

"What's out there is terrible," said Gisela Fernandez, a 42-year-old nurse, after the storm whipped the town in Chapara in the province of Las Tunas Friday. "It's finished raining, but all night long there were terrible winds."

The governor of Camaguey province, Isabel Gonzalez Cardenas, said her area was "seriously affected," but there were no immediate reports of casualties. Cuban officials reported "significant damage."

More than a million people evacuated from vulnerable areas in Cuba.

In Florida, cities on both the east and west coasts of the peninsular state took on the appearance of ghost towns, as nervous residents heeded insistent evacuation orders affecting 5.6 million people.

The storm's forecast track has shifted slightly, so it now looks bound for Florida's west Gulf coast instead of the Atlantic coast, with landfall expected Sunday morning in the Florida Keys.

But Irma is so wide that authorities were bracing for destructive storm surges on both coasts and the Keys, the chain of low-lying islands that stretch south of Miami toward Cuba.

And hurricane-force winds are expected to lash the peninsula as it rolls north toward Georgia.

In Key West, police opened a "shelter of last resort" for those fool-hardy enough to ignore mandatory evacuation orders.

Flood-prone Miami Beach, also under mandatory evacuation order, has been emptied of people but is bracing for high waters.

"Nobody can be prepared for a storm surge. They can destroy everything," said David Wallack, a 67-year-old salsa club owner attempting to secure his property on the city's Ocean Drive.

"We just can pray for the best. You put what you can in a suitcase and hope."

Across the peninsula the Gulf coast city of Fort Myers also was battening down for Irma's screaming winds, rain and storm surge.

"This is a worst case scenario for our city. And our region," the city's mayor, Randall Henderson said on CNN. "We're taking it very seriously. We are prepared for it."

Warning that Irma would be worse than Hurricane Andrew -- which killed 65 people in 1992 -- Florida's governor said all 20.6 million Floridians should prepare to flee.

Bumper-to-bumper traffic snaked north out of the state, with mattresses, gas cans and kayaks strapped to car roofs.

Cuban-American Orlando Reyes, 82, was forced to flee his assisted living facility in Miami Beach.

"It is frightening," he told AFP at a shelter in Miami. "We had to leave without a cent, without taking a bath, or bringing anything."

The storm smashed through a string of Caribbean islands, beginning with tiny Barbuda on Wednesday, followed by the holiday islands of St Barts and St Martin.

Also affected were the US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and the Turks and Caicos. The Bahamas were spared Irma's worst.

French state-owned reinsurer CCR estimated Irma had caused 1.2 billion euros ($1.4 billion) worth of damage to homes, vehicles and businesses in the territories of Saint Martin and Saint Barts.

"Houses are smashed, the airport is out of action," St Barts resident Olivier Toussaint told AFP.

"Upside-down cars are in the cemeteries. Boats are sunk in the marina, shops are destroyed."

Meteorologists meanwhile were closely monitoring two other Atlantic storms.

Jose, another powerful Category 4 storm, was heading towards the same string of Caribbean islands Irma has pummeled in recent days.

The deteriorating weather grounded aircraft and prevented boats from bringing relief supplies to hard-hit islands.

Katia, which made landfall in eastern Mexico late Friday as a Category One hurricane, had weakened by Saturday to a tropical depression. Mexico reported two people killed by mudslides unleashed by the heavy rains.

The US military was mobilizing thousands of troops and deploying several large ships to aid with evacuations and humanitarian relief, as the Air Force removed scores of planes from the southern United States.

At least two people were killed in Puerto Rico, and many residents were without power.

Another four people were killed on the US Virgin Islands, with a number of badly injured people airlifted to Puerto Rico.

A child died in Barbuda, where 30 percent of properties were demolished and the entire island has been evacuated.

France said at least 10 people had been killed across its Caribbean territories, with seven more missing. There were 112 people injured, two seriously.

On the Dutch side of Saint Martin island, two people died.

In northwest Haiti, a motorcyclist was missing after trying to cross a flooded river and a number of roads were washed out.
Hurricane Irma makes landfall in Florida as a category 4 hurricane, killing at least three people and knocking out power to over one million households.