‘Barbuda is Barely Habitable,’ After Hurricane Irma, Prime Minister Says

Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda Gaston Browne said in an interview with ABS Television, "The extent of the destruction on Barbuda is unprecedented," and estimated that 60 percent of the island's population has been left homeless. 

"Barbuda is barely habitable," he added. "It is total devastation — Barbuda now is literally rubble."

Irma, with its winds as powerful as 185 miles per hour, is nearing the island of Puerto Rico and is also forecast to hit Florida on Saturday night. The storm is currently a Category 5 storm, the highest on the hurricane scale, making it one of the most powerful storms the Atlantic has ever experienced.

The storm has killed at least nine people so far, most of them in the French Caribbean. At least two people have died on the island of St Barts, and six people lost their lives on St Martin. An infant in Barbuda was killed as the child's mother tried to escape their home during the storm.

St Barts Senator Michel Magras commented on the hurricane's destruction, saying, "I am shocked by the monster that covers us. The island is devastated, it is apocalyptic, a lot of damage, many roofs destroyed," the UK Express reports.

St Barts resident Alex Jacqua also commented on the colossal storm, saying, "The house shakes, it moves, this is Hiroshima. We've just been deprived of electricity. It feels like a war, the wind is very strong, you hear a lot of noise everywhere, the windows vibrate, and we still have four to five hours to go."