Caribbean Hurricane Irma's path was such that its impact was both far-reaching and devastating, with landfalls in
Antigua and Barbuda,
Saint Martin,
the Bahamas,
Cuba, and the United States, all at major hurricane intensity. Furthermore, the size of the storm system meant that destruction was prevalent even in territories well removed from landfall occurrences. Irma is the second-costliest Caribbean hurricane on record, after Maria.
Antigua and Barbuda The eyewall of the hurricane moved over
Barbuda at its record peak intensity early on September 6; a weather station observed a wind gust of . The same station also recorded a minimum barometric pressure of . it completely flattened some residential blocks while submerging others. The destruction rendered the island's sole airport and much of its infrastructure inoperative—including water and telecommunication services—which further hampered relief efforts. Property damage on Barbuda ranged from $150 million to $300 million. A total of three storm-related deaths were reported on the island. Barbuda's
Codrington Lagoon, home to the largest colony of
magnificent frigatebirds in the Caribbean, with an estimated 2,500 nesting pairs, was also inundated by the storm surge. Remaining just outside of Irma's strongest windfield,
Antigua sustained less severe damage, in the form of leveled roofs and fences, downed power poles and lines, and uprooted trees. Some street flooding also took place in low-lying areas. Three people were treated for minor storm-related injuries.
Forensic disaster analysts from the Center for Disaster Management and Risk Reduction Technology (CEDIM), a Germany-based
risk management agency, estimate that economic losses for Antigua and Barbuda will exceed $120 million. Irma's extreme winds ripped trees out of the ground and sent vehicles and debris from damaged structures scattered across the territory. On the French side of
Saint-Martin, entire marinas around
Marigot were left in ruins, littered with the stranded remnants of boats that had smashed into each other. A hotel caught on fire, but dangerous conditions and impassable roads prevented firefighters from putting out the blaze. Another hotel lost nearly all of its ground floor. Media images depicted devastated room interiors with furniture hurled around after the winds had shattered their windows. Estimates from CEDIM indicate a minimum of $950 million worth of economic losses. The hurricane wreaked havoc on
Princess Juliana International Airport, with "huge chunks of the building [strewn] across the runway and a jet bridge snapped in half." It demolished or severely damaged about 70% of Sint Maarten's houses, forcing thousands of residents into public shelters. There were 4 deaths and 23 injuries, Irma is considered the worst
natural disaster to hit Sint Maarten; the extent of its damage far exceeded that of any previous hurricane. Violent seas swept away entire coastal establishments, with one hotel being stripped of all but its foundation. Streets in the capital of
Gustavia were turned into rushing rivers, which carried away vehicles and pieces of furniture. The island's fire station was inundated with up to of flood waters. With scores of homes and much of the infrastructure destroyed, the majority of the island's population was left stranded and without water, electricity or phone service. On January 30, 2018, roughly five months after Irma, an analysis was published indicating that an anemometer on the island recorded an unofficial gust to before failing.
Anguilla The British Overseas Territory of
Anguilla saw the eyewall of the storm pass over it on September 6. Many homes and schools were destroyed, and the island's only hospital was badly damaged. About 90% of roads were left impassable. One death was reported on the island. Estimates of losses on the island total at least $190 million. One surfer was killed amid rough surf in
Barbados after hitting a reef and breaking his neck. Trees were also destroyed. The hurricane's effects, such as violent seas and rattling trees, were intense enough to be detected by seismographs in
Guadeloupe. Several houses were damaged. Around 8,000 households and a water supply network on that island lost power during the storm, leaving several communes in the dark without running water. Overall damage was limited to external parts of houses and trees that were blown onto roads and three unmanned ships wrecked by rough seas. Still, Prime Minister
Timothy Harris stated that property and infrastructure had sustained "significant damage." CEDIM's analysts expect economic losses of $20–65 million for the two islands. Damage in the
British Virgin Islands was extensive. Numerous buildings and roads were destroyed on the island of
Tortola, which bore the brunt of the hurricane's core. Four people were confirmed dead. Most homes and businesses were destroyed on the island of
Jost Van Dyke, the smallest of the B.V.I.'s four main islands. The
governor,
Gus Jaspert, who had only been sworn into office 13 days previously, declared a state of emergency - the first time this has ever happened in the Territory. After the storm, restoration of electricity took approximately 5 months.
U.S. Virgin Islands Irma's effects in the
U.S. Virgin Islands were most profound on
Saint Thomas, where at least of rain fell, and on
Saint John. Saint Thomas island suffered widespread structural damage, including to its police station and airport. Patients from the fourth and third floors of
Charlotte Amalie's hospital had to be relocated to lower floors due to flooding from roof leaks. Three deaths were attributed to Irma on the island. On nearby
Saint Croix, there were communication issues and some damage to the infrastructure. Total damage from the three islands was at least $1.1 billion.
Puerto Rico The hurricane passed north of
Puerto Rico, but still caused significant damage to the United States territory. Along the coast, a tide gauge observed waves up to
mean higher high water. Much of the main island experienced sustained tropical storm force winds, with a peak sustained wind speed of at a weather station along
San Juan Bay, while the same site observed a peak wind gust of . Mainly due to strong winds, approximately 1.1 million out of 1.5 million of
Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority's customers lost electricity. The most severely affected areas included the offshore islands of Culebra and
Vieques, as well as the northeastern, northern, and mountainous portions of the main island. On Culebra, the island suffered an almost complete loss of electrical and water services. At least 30 homes on the island were destroyed, while about 30 other experienced substantial damage. High winds also toppled a number of trees. The only telecommunications tower on Culebra sustained damage, cutting off outside communications for several hours. Throughout Puerto Rico, 781 out of 1,600 telecommunications towers went out of commission, primarily due to power outages. At least 362,000 customers lost water services. Debris, mostly fallen trees, blocked at least 72 roads. Approximately 25% to 30% of banana, coffee, papaya, and plantain crops were damaged by strong winds, with losses to farmers estimated at $30.6 million. Hurricane Irma was attributed to around $1 billion in damage, Two people died due to rainstorms ahead of the hurricane: one man died in
Orocovis after falling off his ladder while repairing his roof; another man on the coast in
Capitanejo died after being struck by lightning. Three nearby fishermen were burned by the same lightning strike, but survived. Two other people died during the hurricane: a woman died while being evacuated from her house in a wheelchair and fell, hitting her head; another person died in a car accident in
Canóvanas. Governor
Ricardo Rosselló declared the islands of Culebra and Vieques to be disaster areas. In the Dominican Republic, the fishing community of
Nagua sustained damage from waves that destroyed homes. 55,000 soldiers were deployed to affected areas to help with the cleanup efforts. In Haiti, flooding one meter deep sat in residential neighborhoods in places like
Cap-Haïtien,
Ouanaminthe, and
Gonaives.
Turks and Caicos Islands On the evening of September 7, at 7:30 p.m. AST (23:30 UTC), Hurricane Irma reached the
Turks and Caicos Islands. While the eye passed just south of the main islands, crossing over
South Caicos and the
Ambergris Cays, the most powerful winds on the northern side of the eye swept all of the islands for more than two hours. Communications infrastructure was destroyed. The hospital in the capital,
Cockburn Town, was heavily damaged. Total damage was estimated at over $500 million. Damages were largely confined to the southern islands starting the morning of September 8. On
Mayaguana and
Great Inagua, downed power lines knocked out communications. On Great Inagua, 70% of homes sustained roof damage, and the island's school lost its roof entirely. The
Morton Salt Company's signature production facility, one of the major employers in the country, experienced millions of dollars in damages. The Acklins settlement of Salina Point was cut off from the rest of the island by flooding, while
Crooked Island had widespread roof damage. While Irma was making landfall in Florida, the ocean was drawn away from some western shorelines of the Bahamas due to strong easterly winds.
Cuba delivering disaster supplies in
Havana Harbor after Hurricane Irma. Early on September 9, Irma made landfall on the
Camagüey Archipelago off the northern coast of
Cuba, with sustained winds of . The strongest official sustained wind speed was , while the highest wind gust reached ; both were observed near Camila in
Ciego de Ávila Province. The storm partially deroofed 103,691 homes, while 23,560 were completely deroofed. Irma damaged or destroyed 980 health facilities and 2,264 schools. Approximately 3.1 million people experienced disruptions to the water supply, while 246,707 people lost telephone service. About of roads were damaged. Crops also suffered extensively, with nearly affected by the storm. The tourist areas of
Cayo Coco,
Cayo Guillermo and
Cayo Santa María and the nearby town of
Caibarién received the brunt of the storm, with waves rolling through town and the characteristic one-story homes completely flooded. The storm most severely Ciego de Ávila and Villa Clara provinces. Flooding worsened as the hurricane moved west, pushing the storm surge along to the regions around
Havana. Portions of province coastal flooding surpassing that which was experienced during the
Storm of the Century in 1993 and Hurricane Wilma in 2005. Rainfall resulted in several rivers reaching major flood stage. The town of
Cabaiguán in Sancti Spíritus Province in particular suffered extensive inland flooding after the Zaza River swelled.
Mainland United States Hurricane Irma affected multiple states in the South, especially Florida. Except for the Florida Keys, the total damage Irma caused was not as great as government officials and forecasters had warned. Irma weakened after making landfall in Cuba, but strengthened back into a Category 4 prior to hitting the Keys. The Florida Keys suffered the worst of the damage in the United States. After surveying the aftermath of Irma, Florida governor
Rick Scott said "I thought we would see more damage" [on the mainland] but said "he witnessed devastation in the Keys".
President Donald Trump commented on
Twitter that the devastation in some places was "far greater than anyone thought". Damage in the United States was estimated at a minimum of $50 billion. At the time, Irma was the fourth costliest tropical cyclone in the United States, behind hurricanes
Sandy in 2012,
Harvey earlier that year, and
Katrina in 2005. However, later in September 2017,
Hurricane Maria became the third costliest United States tropical cyclone, causing Irma to fall to the fifth costliest. At least 92 people, 10 directly and 82 indirectly, died throughout the United States in relation to Irma: 84 in Florida, 3 in Georgia, 3 in South Carolina, and 2 in North Carolina. Irma struck the state less than two weeks after
Potential Tropical Cyclone Ten had caused the worst flooding seen in western Florida in 20 years, which further worsened the impacts in the region. The storm's large wind field resulted in strong winds across much of Florida, except for the western Panhandle. The highest reported sustained wind speed was on
Marco Island, while the strongest observed wind gust was , recorded near
Naples, though wind gusts of likely occurred in the Middle
Florida Keys. Generally heavy amounts of rainfall were recorded to the east of the Irma's path, including a peak total of in
Fort Pierce. Heavy precipitation – and storm surge, in some instances – overflowed at least 32 rivers and creeks, causing significant flooding, particularly along the
St. Johns River and its tributaries. Agriculture experienced about $2.5 billion in damage. Throughout Florida, at least 84 people died in storm-related incidents.
Broward County had 21 fatalities, the most of any county in Florida. Among those deaths were 12 people at
The Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills, a
Hollywood nursing home. The patients died from sweltering heat worsened by the lack of air conditioning. 6 deaths in
Orange County; 5 deaths each in
Duval,
Miami-Dade, and
Palm Beach counties; 4 deaths in both
Highlands and
Hillsborough counties; 3 deaths in both
Marion and
Polk counties; and 1 death in
Hendry,
Lake,
Lee,
Liberty,
Manatee,
Nassau,
Okeechobee,
Pasco,
Seminole,
St. Johns, and
Volusia counties. An estimated storm surge occurred at
Cudjoe Key, where Irma made landfall. Throughout the island, 625 homes sustained minor damage, 52 sustained major damage, and 81 were demolished. On
Big Pine Key, one of the most devastated islands, 633 homes received minor impact, 299 homes received major impact, and 473 homes were completely destroyed. Overall in Monroe County, 27,649 homes experienced some degree of damage, including 1,179 homes being destroyed, 2,977 homes receiving major damage, and 5,361 suffering minor damage. After devastating the Keys, the storm then struck Collier County as a Category 3 hurricane. Several communities in the county suffered extensive damage, especially along the coast. Lee County was lashed by strong winds and heavy rainfall, which caused prolonged flooding in some areas. More than 24,000 homes suffered some degree of damage, with almost 3,000 homes receiving major damage and 89 homes being destroyed. Damage in the county totaled about $857 million. Throughout Hendry County, a total of 451 homes had minor damage, 131 homes suffered major damage, and 42 others were destroyed. Strong winds and heavy rainfall in
Central Florida left some wind damage and flooding, necessitating evacuations and rescues, including more than 200 people in
Orlo Vista after hundreds of homes were flooded. 7,430 in Seminole County, and 3,457 in Volusia County. Additionally, eight tornadoes touched down in
Brevard County, all of which caused damage. Along much of the Gulf Coast of Florida, to the north of where Irma made landfall, negative storm surges were observed, with water retracting rather than pushing inland, causing little coastal flooding. The city of Jacksonville suffered about $85 million in damage. In St. Johns County, storm surge left extensive damage to oceanfront properties in
Ponte Vedra Beach and
Vilano Beach, with several becoming uninhabitable. Additionally, some riverfront businesses in
St. Augustine's
historic district were flooded due to storm surge from the
Matanzas River. In nearby
Clay County, rainfall and storm surge combined to cause extensive flooding along portions of the
Black Creek and the St. Johns River, with record high crests at several locations along the former.
Other states Three deaths were reported in
Georgia due to falling trees and debris, along with widespread wind damage and power outages throughout the state primarily due to fallen trees. On
Tybee Island, as well as
St. Simons Island the storm surge caused extensive flooding. The tropical storm also did $54 million in damage in the state. In
Charleston, South Carolina, the third highest storm surge on record was recorded, reaching a height of approximately . By of September 12, almost 100,000 had lost power in
Upstate South Carolina. Five people died in storm-related incidents across South Carolina, all from indirect incidents. The tropical storm caused damages totaling $500,000 in the state. Light damage occurred in other areas, including
Tennessee. About 75,000 customers in
North Carolina lost power due to Irma, where two fatalities occurred. The storm also caused $600,000 in damages in
Alabama. ==Aftermath==