Irma leaves at least 10 dead in the Caribbean as it moves toward Florida

At least 10 people have died in the Caribbean as Hurricane Irma continues on its devastating path toward Florida. Irma weakened a bit Thursday morning but remains a Category 5 storm with winds of 180 mph, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. French officials confirmed that eight people died and 23 were injured in its Caribbean Island territories, while a 2-year-old child died in Barbuda and another death was reported on the British island of Anguilla. Irma’s heavy rain and fierce winds left most of Puerto Rico without power, but the U.S. territory was spared from a direct hit. Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne said Irma destroyed at least 90 percent of properties on Barbuda early Wednesday. “It is just really a horrendous situation,” Browne said after returning to Antigua from a plane trip to the neighboring island. Photos and videos from St. Martin showed significant damage to the island’s airport and heavy flooding in the coastal village of Marigot. In Puerto Rico, more than 900,000 people are without power and nearly 50,000 are without water. The U.S. National Hurricane Center predicts the storm will remain a Category 4 or 5 for several days as it continues north of the Dominican Republic and Haiti on Thursday. By Thursday night it should move near the Turks & Caicos and the Bahamas and then pass close to Cuba on Friday night into Saturday. Irma then will likely head north toward Florida, where officials have imposed mandatory evacuation orders for the Florida Keys and parts of the Miami metro area. Forecasters said Irma could move along the entire Atlantic coast of Florida and then strike Georgia and South Carolina.