The Category 5 Hurricane Irma hit the northeastern Caribbean islands on Wednesday, Vox reported. It caused damage to homes, property, and infrastructure on these islands. Around 90 percent of the buildings in Barbuda have been destroyed, and at least one person has died.

According to the United States National Hurricane Center (NHC), Irma reached the maximum sustained winds of 185 miles per hour on Tuesday, and it is one of the strongest storms in Atlantic basin in past 10 years. The center also added that Irma can become the strongest disaster in next 48 hours, the Telegraph reported.

The US territory and nearby islands can face more destruction

The NHC said that it is not clear that Irma will reach Florida or somewhere else in the U.S. by the end of this week, but a Category 4 or 5 storm will provide the huge impact on Florida. It also added that "Everyone in hurricane-prone areas should ensure that they have their hurricane plan in place."

Irma's eye will pass north of Puerto Rico (the US territory) later today, and it has already started hitting Rico with 185 m.p.h. strong winds.

On Monday, a state of emergency was declared on the island by Governor Ricardo Rosselló. The main concern is related to the economy of the territory as it is declining for years because of carelessly spending money by the government, expensive energy system and dependence on debt. Puerto Rico is under the debt of $74 billion, according to CNN Money.

Puerto Rico and Florida have already declared states of emergencies in carrying out all possible steps which would be required during the disaster including freeing up resources for evacuations, shelters, and also deploying National Guard members to help people during the storm, Vox reported. The evacuation of some residents was considered by the official in Miami-Dade County, Florida on Wednesday.

How will Irma impact on the U.S.?

The NHC said that the Category 5 storms can destroy buildings, homes, uproot trees and shut down the power for months. The center also said that the intensity of Category 5 Hurricane Irma is forecasted to remain unchanged for the next couple of days.

According to the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Irma has scored 5.3 rating on a hurricane severity scale (1-to-10 scale), which shows the information of the hurricane size, wind speed and how much destruction it can bring. Hurricane Katrina would have scored 6.6 rating.
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