Bumper-to-bumper traffic snaked north out of the peninsula, with mattresses, gas cans and kayaks strapped to car roofs, as residents heeded increasingly insistent warnings to get out and Florida’s governor said all of the state’s 20.6mn inhabitants should be prepared to evacuate.
“Hurricane Irma is of epic proportion, perhaps bigger than we have ever seen,” US President Donald Trump warned on Twitter. “Be safe and get out of its way, if possible.”
Roaring across the Caribbean, the monster storm laid waste to a series of tiny islands like Saint Barthelemy and Saint Martin, where 60% of homes were wrecked and scenes of looting have broken out, before slamming into the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
“Houses are smashed, the airport is out of action, telephone and electricity poles are on the ground,” Olivier Toussaint, a resident of Saint-Barthelemy, said. “Upside-down cars are in the cemeteries. Boats are sunk in the marina, shops are destroyed.”
Irma was downgraded overnight from a rare Category 5 storm to a still-deadly Category 4, and continued to pack extremely dangerous winds of 150mph (240kph). Page 10
