Hurricane Irma unexpectedly ran its course through the Caribbean shortly after Hurricane Harvey hit Texas. It began its course at full force as a category 5 hurricane with over 185mph winds in the island of Guadeloupe. Then continuing its path onto Barbuda, St. Bart’s, St. Martin, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Haiti Cuba, and now Florida. Irma has devastated a lot of the islands, leaving them without electricity, massive amounts of flooding, and ruined infrastructure. The winds brought by hurricane Irma have also been so strong that trees have been knocked out of their roots, blocking all roads. In Barbuda, Irma destroyed estimates of 90% of the islands’ structures. While in St. Bart’s and St. Martin, eight people died and twenty-three were injured during the storm.

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In Puerto Rico, no hurricane has been seen so powerful since hurricane San Felipe eighty-nine years ago. Leaving all of the locals worried as the hurricane rapidly approached the island. After the storm left Puerto Rico and continued it’s course towards the Dominican Republic, students were open to talking about the destruction.

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Sean Roman, a junior International Business major from Puerto Rico, said, “Honestly, we are blessed once again. In Puerto Rico there were no casualties like there were in St. Martin, Antigua, and Barbuda. But I do have to say that I was worried because I did not know what was going to happen to the island and specifically, my family. My condolences go out to all of those affected by the hurricane.”

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Another student, Fernando Carillo, a junior Computer Engineering major from Puerto Rico, said “My family in Puerto Rico took shelter at my grandmother’s house because she has a power plant and water tank reserve. With that being said, as the hurricane approached the island, the water tank broke and all the water was wasted. My family is now telling me that the whole island is paralyzed from the lack of electricity and water in homes and businesses. In general everyone is fine and it is not as bad as expected, but yes there was significant damage.”

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Hurricane Irma has been predicted to be the worst storm the U.S. has seen since hurricane Katrina. As Florida residents prepared for the storm at the beginning of last week, supermarkets ran out of water and food while gas stations were also drained out.

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Irma is now a category 4 and has reached Florida, leaving 18 million people under hurricane warning and two dead in South Florida. As Florida continues to be affected by the monster storm early this week American only hopes everyone stays inside and have taken the proper precautions in order to stay safe. Hurricanes are a serious natural disaster and can take lives just how it took the lives of various residents of the Caribbean and Florida.