The hurricane battered several islands, including Barbuda, St. Martin and the British Virgin Islands. Its howling winds tore leaves from palm trees, ripped off roofs and windows from buildings, and slammed tall waves into hotels.
The eye of one of the strongest storms recorded in the Atlantic is making its way toward a possibly devastating hit on Florida over the weekend. The National Hurricane Center described Irma as "extremely dangerous," according to CNN.
Hurricane Irma has killed at least nine people, officials said. Six died on the island of St. Martin and two others on St. Barts, according to French officials. The islands are French-run.
Barbuda took such a major hit, about 95% of its buildings are damaged, its Prime Minister Gaston Browne said.
Irma is one of three active hurricanes in the Atlantic basin -the last time this happened was in 2010.
It's too early to tell whether it will make landfall on the US mainland. Computer models show it could churn near Florida's east coast by late Sunday, and forecasters warn the core could hit the Florida peninsula.
