Hurricane Irma appears to have broken the weather station on the Caribbean island of St Barthelemy (St Barts). No data has been received from the station since 9am UTC, the French Observatory of Tornadoes and Violent Storms reported. The most powerful Atlantic Ocean hurricane in recorded history made its first landfall in the islands of the northeast Caribbean. It is now churning along a path pointing to Puerto
Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Cuba before possibly heading for Florida over the weekend.The eye of Hurricane Irma passed over Barbuda around 1.47am, the National Weather Service said. Residents said over local radio that phone lines went down. Heavy rain and howling winds raked the neighbouring island of Antigua, sending debris flying as people huddled in their homes or government shelters. READ MORE
