Video footage shows the Hurricane Irma’s devastating impact in Puerto Rico, St. Martin, and the Dominican Republic.
Hurricane Irma is just days away from a likely landfall in Florida after sowing destruction across the Caribbean.
The following are videos of the storm’s damage, which some analysts estimate could eventually cost $250 billion. The footage, taken by local residents and government agencies, shows fearsome winds, shattered homes, and massive flooding.
The Category 5 storm remains “extremely dangerous, ” according to the National Hurricane Center. A possible landfall in southern Florida is forecast for Sunday, and residents there are already evacuating.
NASA’s satellites captured Hurricane Irma’s steady path toward the Caribbean islands while another storm, Hurricane Katia, formed in the Gulf of Mexico and threatened the Mexican coast.
Hurricane Irma’s sustained winds of 185 miles per hour pummeled Puerto Rico. The trees in a hotel complex look like they are about to snap in this startling clip.
The following footage shows the devastating effect of Hurricane Irma on Tortola, the biggest of the British Virgin Islands. Debris is scattered across the roads and a now-desolate parking lot.
A woman in the island of St. Martin describes how Hurricane Irma destroyed building roofs and toppled the trees in her neighborhood.
“My husband’s Jeep is total loss, total loss, ” she says. “But what? We have life and we are grateful to God.”
This clip shows intense flooding in Puerto Rico from the Category 5 hurricane.
A once, calm tropical beach in the Samana province of Dominican Republic becomes a roiling cauldron.
NOAA researchers flew a small plane into Hurricane Irma’s eye to collect data about the storm. Extreme turbulence makes the small aircraft’s propellers look like they are struggling to turn. But once the airplane reaches the storm’s eye, the gusts are gone and all is calm in the air.
