WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Irma has been downgraded to a Category Four hurricane but is still extremely dangerous, the National Hurricane Center said on Friday. The storm raging in the Caribbean which is en route to Florida is now packing maximum sustained winds of 155 miles per hour (250 kilometres per hour), the agency said its 0900 GMT update. That is down from speeds of 185 mph when Irma was at its peak […]
Tag: hurricane
The Caribbean islands in the path of Irma
(Agence France Presse) — Hurricane Irma has churned through a string of Caribbean islands, many of them famed for their pristine beauty and tropical climes, and threatens others. Here are background details about these areas: – Anguilla – A group of flat and low-lying islands east of Puerto Rico, Anguilla is a self-governing overseas territory of Britain. It is small (91 square kilometres/35 square miles) with a population estimated at around 17,000. – Antigua […]
Hurricane Irma leaves at least four dead in US Virgin Islands: officials
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – Hurricane Irma leaves at least four dead in US Virgin Islands: officials. (Agence France-Presse)
Hurricane Irma destroys ‘95%’ of French part of St Martin: official
POINTE-À-PITRE, France (AFP) — The French part of the Caribbean island St Martin is “95 percent destroyed” after Hurricane Irma tore through the region, top local official Daniel Gibbs said late Wednesday. “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. The island is in need of emergency assistance, he said. “I have sick people to […]
Bahamas braces for Hurricane Irma
Residents of Bahamas also made the necessary preparations for the impending massive hurricane Irma. Photos from Nassau in Bahamas here showed how the residents bought what they can, mostly food and other items needed, to survive the onslaught of this category 5 hurricane. (Images, video from Eagle News Service correspondent in Nassau, Bahamas. Eagle News Service)
PHL embassy in US urges Filipinos in East Coast to brace for Hurricane Irma
The Philippine Embassy is urging Filipino communities in the East Coast to take all necessary precautions and brace themselves for Hurricane Irma, which is projected to hit the Caribbean islands and surrounding areas, Puerto Rico, and the state of Florida within the next few days. The US National Hurricane Center has now classified Hurricane Irma as a Category 5 hurricane, with potentially catastrophic damage to its path. “We advise all our kababayans staying along […]
Updated: Panic buying in Florida as Category 5 Hurricane Irma nears
Video courtesy Eagle News Service contributor Mike Robinson in Orlando, Florida. Taken in Super Target, Hunters’ Creek. (Eagle News Service) (Video courtesy Ricky Bravo taken in Walmart in Gainesville, Florida) Hurricane Irma, now a category 5 hurricane, is expected to impact the central Florida region in the next few days. Because of this, Central Florida families have not wasted any time in preparing for this storm, which is being called the […]
Irma turns into ‘extremely dangerous’ Category 5 hurricane — US monitors
MIAMI, United States (AFP) — Irma picked up strength and has become an “extremely dangerous” Category Five hurricane as it approached the Caribbean on Tuesday, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center reported. “Preparations should be rushed to completion in the hurricane warning area,” the NHC said in its 1200 GMT bulletin. The monster hurricane, the most powerful of the five-level Saffir-Simpson scale, is about 270 miles (440 kilometers) east of the island of Antigua packing […]
Texas flood disaster by the numbers
HOUSTON, United States (AFP) – Monster storm Harvey hit the south Texas coast late Friday and then stalled, gushing torrents of rain over Houston, the country’s fourth largest city with six million people in the greater metropolitan area. The storm continues to pour rain as it heads slowly through neighboring Louisiana. How much rain? Up to 52 inches (132 centimeters) of rain fell from Saturday through Wednesday morning in parts of coastal Texas, and more […]
‘No way to prevent’ explosion at Texas chemical plant
HOUSTON, United States (AFP) – The operators of a flooded chemical plant outside Houston warned Wednesday they are dealing with a “critical issue” triggered by Harvey’s torrential rains and have no means to prevent a possible explosion at the site. As a precautionary measure officials had already ordered the evacuation of an area within 1.5 miles (three km) of the organic peroxides plant in Harris County, which is owned by French group Arkema. Rich Rowe, […]
Trump visits Texas disaster zone before Harvey return
by Katie Schubauer with Jennie Matthew in Winnie, Texas HOUSTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump headed to storm-ravaged Texas Tuesday in a show of solidarity and leadership in the face of the deadly devastation wrought by Harvey — as the battered United States Gulf Coast braces for even more torrential rain. Four days after Harvey slammed onshore as a monster Category Four hurricane, turning roads to rivers in America’s fourth-largest city, emergency crews […]
Hurricane Harvey slams into Texas coastline
by Mark Ralston with Katie Schubauer in San Antonio Agence France-Presse CORPUS CHRISTI, United States – Hurricane Harvey slammed into the Texas coast late Friday, unleashing torrents of rain and packing powerful winds, the first major storm to hit the US mainland in 12 years. The storm roared ashore at the town of Rockport — near Corpus Christi, a major US oil industry hub — packing sustained winds of 130 miles per hour (215 kilometers per hour), a […]





