'Total devastation' as Hurricane Irma hits Barbuda
Hurricane Irma has killed one person and left behind "total devastation" as the monster storm smashed into the tiny Caribbean island of Barbuda, authorities said.
"It is just total devastation, Barbuda now is literally rubble," Prime Minister Gaston Browne said in the aftermath of the monster Category Five storm.
Speaking later on CNN, Browne said that 95% of properties in Barbuda were damaged, with up to 30% demolished.
Emergency management office spokesman Midcie Francis added in a statement that one person died and that the damage was extensive.
Images show Irma damage in Barbuda; officials say destruction could be "upwards of 90%" https://t.co/5WpCIuCk4d https://t.co/GBjTj9ZeXz
— CNN (@CNN) September 6, 2017
The French part of the Caribbean island St Martin has also been "95 percent destroyed".
"It's an enormous catastrophe. Ninety-five percent of the island is destroyed. I'm in shock. It's frightening," said Gibbs, a former French lawmaker, speaking on Radio Caribbean International.
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The island is in need of emergency assistance, he said. "I have sick people to evacuate, I have a population to evacuate because I don't know where I can shelter them," he said.
At least six people have been killed in the French part of St Martin, Guadeloupe prefect Eric Maire said.