A record 5.6million people have been ordered to evacuate Florida as Hurricane Irma approaches.
The largest evacuation in US history is taking place as Irma gathered strength once again to become a Category 5 storm.
It is packing sustained winds of 160mph and a storm surge of up to 12ft is expected.
The death toll currently stands at 27 lives lost after Irma tore through the Caribbean including several British Overseas Territories.
Images of the devastation gave greater urgency to warnings with the National Weather Service stating simply: "This is as real as it gets - nowhere will be safe."
Follow updates as we bring you all the latest from this historic storm.
KEY EVENTS
Britain 'found wanting' over Irma response
Chairmen of the Commons Foreign Affairs and International Development committees, Tom Tugendhat and Stephen Twigg, said Britain’s response to Hurricane Irma has been “found wanting”.
In a letter to Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and International Development Secretary Priti Patel, they wrote: “While we welcome the increase in funding for disaster relief in the British Overseas Territories to £32 million and the fact that personnel, equipment and the RFA Mounts Bay were dispatched to the area before the hurricane struck, arriving in Anguilla the day after its devastation, we are concerned that many in the UK’s overseas territories in the Caribbean are still in grave need.”
The Foreign Office has set up a hotline for people affected by the disaster and for people whose loved ones may be affected, on 020 7008 0000.
Stunning new footage of Hurricane Irma emerges
INCREDIBLE VIEW OF IRMA FROM THE AIR AS IT APPROACHES US
Frustrated Kissimmee residents wait several hours for sandbags
Frustrated residents formed long lines in their cars to get sandbags in Kissimmee, preparing for the arrival of Hurricane Irma.
Irma, one of the most powerful Atlantic storms in a century, is expected to hit Florida on Sunday. Governor Rick Scott starkly warned residents to get out if they were in evacuation zones.
EMOTIONS HIGH AS QUEUES BACK UP FOR HURRICANE HELP
Kissimmee residents shovelled sand in bags, some with their bare hands.
Walt Disney World said its theme park in Orlando would remain closed on Sunday and Monday, joining a growing list of top attractions in the city that are bracing for Irma.
'We will be here as long as it takes'
The UK is racing to provide support for Britons stranded in the path of Hurricane Irma as it bears down on the US mainland with increased strength.
Prime Minister Theresa May said work was taking place with US authorities to ensure British expats and tourists in Florida are protected as millions of locals and visitors flee to safety.
Life-threatening wind, rain and a storm surge are expected in the Turks and Caicos Islands, another British territory, into Saturday, after it was “pummelled” by Irma on Thursday night.
Off the coast of the British Virgin Islands, the captain of the naval vessel spearheading Britain’s relief efforts described scenes of destruction.
Stephen Norris, commanding officer of Royal Fleet Auxiliary Mounts Bay, told the Press Association: “I haven’t seen anything on the scale of what we have seen here.
“It is one of those storms which I think defies all expectations.”
Engineers, marines and medics are being carried on board the ship, which delivered six tonnes of supplies to Anguilla and carried out repair work before moving to the British Virgin Islands.
Captain Norris said: “We will be here as long as it takes. I will stay here as long as I possibly can to support the islands.”
National Weather Service employees staying put
Did you draw straws for who gets to stay behind?
National Weather Service employees in Key West, Florida, have revealed they will be staying put during the storm.
The area is likely to be among the hardest hit.
But when asked jokingly on twitter if they had to “draw straws” for how stays, the NWS replied: “Not at all. We all are staying, families left already.
“This is what we signed up for, keep the mission going.”
They later added that they have a building and shelter “rated to withstand a category 5 hurricane.”
Three hurricanes - all could make landfall
Irma is not the only hurricane in the region at the moment.
Jose is strengthening and making its way towards already devastated parts of the Caribbean.
Meanwhile, Katia made landfall in Mexico last night near the working-class beach resort of Tecolutla in the state of Veracruz on the Mexican Gulf coast.
It lost some strength before it landed about 115 miles northwest of the port city of Veracruz as a Category 1 storm with sustained winds 75 mph.
The storm is expected to weaken rapidly over the next day.
Category 1 is the NHC’s weakest hurricane designation while Category 5 is the strongest. Storms of Category 3 and above are defined as major hurricanes.
British crisis centre keeps eye on the storms
BORIS JOHNSON DEFENDS BRITISH RESPONSE TO HURRICANE IRMA
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has said Britain’s emergency response to Hurricane Irma was “very good”, adding that strong winds had made it difficult to send in helicopters and planes to the region.
Hurricane Irma lashed Cuba and the Bahamas as it drove toward Florida on Friday after hitting the eastern Caribbean with its devastatingly high winds, killing 21 people and leaving catastrophic destruction in its wake.
Speaking from the government’s crisis centre in London, Johnson said Britain will “continue to bring supply and comfort to those islands”.
Even as they came to grips with the massive destruction, residents of the islands hit hardest by Irma faced the threat of another major storm, Hurricane Jose.
Jose, expected to reach the Caribbean on Saturday, is an extremely dangerous Category 4 storm, with winds of up to 150 mph, the NHC said on Friday.
Governor Scott waives tax on fuel amid shortage
I waived FL’s motor fuel import tax for 5 days to help bring more fuel to our state for storm response & recovery. bit.ly/2xSe307
Governor Rick Scott has waived tax for 5 days amid a gas crisis in Florida.
He has signed an order exempting importers of fuel from taxes until September 14 in the hope it will bring more fuel into the state.
There have been widespread reports that gas is hard to come by as millions escape Florida by vehicle.
FLORIDA GOVERNOR ISSUES STARK WARNINGTO RESIDENTS
Irma could hit tourist hotspots vital for Cuba economy
Evalúan acciones para la seguridad de la población camagüeyana ante amenaza de Irma radiocamaguey.wordpress.com/2017/09/08/eva…
The scenes along Cuba’s north central coast were gradually coming to resemble the horrors of those of other Caribbean islands over the last week as Irma barreled in for a direct hit at Ciego de Avila province around midnight.
Choppy seas, grey skies, sheets of rain, bending palm trees, huge waves crashing over sea walls and downed power lines filled state-run television’s evening news cast.
Meteorologists warned that by Saturday morning scenes of far greater devastation were sure to emerge as Irma worked her way along the northern coast westward through Sancti Spiritus and Villa Clara provinces, where it is forecast to turn northward toward Florida.
The area is home to pristine keys with more than 50 hotels and fine beaches, vital money makers for the cash-strapped government.
Residents in the central province of Camaguey hunkered down on Friday night.
“There are really strong gusts of wind. It is pouring off and on, and the lights are out,” Anaida Gonzalez, a retired nurse, said by telephone.
KEY EVENT
Irma makes landfall on Cuba
Hurricane #Irma Advisory 40: Irma Making Landfall On the Camaguey Archipelago of Cuba as A Category 5 Hurricane. go.usa.gov/W3H
Irma has made landfall on Cuba as a Category 5 hurricane.
Miami is EMPTY
.@MayorGimenez issues mandatory evacuation for mobile homes, residents of Zone A & Barrier Islands. ow.ly/q4Qg30eY9Nc #HurricaneIrma
These pictures give you an idea of the scale of the evacuation in Florida.
Miami-Dade county, home to more than 2.7million people, has been turned into a ghost land.
The streets are empty of people and traffic and its quiet an eerie sight.
Miami Beach, normally a bustling hive of music and parties, is deathly quiet.
Zoo moves to protect pink flamingos from Irma
TIME TO FLAMIN-GOINSIDE!
In some parts of Florida, last minute preparations for the arrival of Irma included the corralling of pink flamingos.
At the Miami Zoo, officials are busy making sure their nearly 3,000 animals are safely out of harms way.
Most of the animals, including these pink flamingos, are being carefully moved to concrete holding areas ahead of the storm.
Amazingly in 1992 flamingos rode out destructive Hurricane Andrew in the bathroom of the Miami Metrozoo.
Which path will Irma take?
In the final hours before Irma strikes, there are hopes her path may shift slightly and make a real difference.
Some of the latest projections show the hurricane forging a path further to the west than previously predicted.
Due to its size, this wouldn’t mean Irma doesn’t hit the whole of Florida.
But it would mean the conditions would be ‘only’ a Category 3 storm, as Eric Holthaus points out.
Helicopter footage shows ravaged US and British Virgin Islands
SHOCKING AERIAL VIEWSOVER US AND BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS
New video filmed over the British and US Virgin Islands shows the extent of devastation left behind by Hurricane Irma.
From shattered ports, broken houses and debris scattered on land and off shore, the images show the islands of Tortola, Saba Rock, Virgin Gorda, Eustatia Island, Anegada, St Thomas and Beef Island.
Irma ravaged a series of other small islands in the northeast Caribbean, including Barbuda, St. Martin and the US Virgin Islands, ripping down trees and structures in its path.
Winds predicted up to 167mph at landfall
Extremely Dangerous Hurricane Irma spinning closer to a landfall over Southern Florida. Finalize your evacuation. weather.com/storms/hurrica…
The Weather Channel predicts winds of up to 167mph hitting Florida on Sunday.
Irma is going to crash through the state’s biggest cities including Miami and Naples.
Cuba at a standstill as Irma sweeps through
After passing the Bahamas earlier in the day, Irma periodically drenched Cuba with rain and wind from the outer edge of the storm.
Irma was forecast to bring dangerous storm surges of up to 20 feet to the southeastern and central Bahamas and up to 10 feet on parts of Cuba’s northern coast.
Cuba’s Communist government has traditionally made rigorous preparations when the island is threatened by storms, and the country was at a near standstill as Irma began to drive up the northern coast from east to west.
Irma was forecast to move closer to land as it passed the centre of Cuba later in the day and on Saturday, when it could seriously damage resorts on vulnerable keys.
Tourists, and even the dolphins that entertain them, were evacuated.
CUBAN COAST BATTEREDBY IRMA'S WINDS
Hurricane Irma far larger than biggest storm to ever hit Florida
The United States has experienced only three Category 5 storms since 1851.
And Irma is far larger than the last one to hit - Hurricane Andrew which struck Florida in 1992 causing an estimated $26.5 billion of damage.
“We are running out of time. If you are in an evacuation zone, you need to go now,” Governor Rick Scott said.
“This is a catastrophic storm like our state has never seen.”
US braces for record-breaking Hurricane Irma
Hurricane Irma, the record-setting storm, has left a path of destruction through the Caribbean.
Islands such as Saint Martin and Barbuda have been virtually wiped out with almost every structure torn to shreds by its powerful winds.
And now the state of Florida lies directly in its path.
Measuring around 300 miles across, almost nowhere in the state will escape Irma.
As a result authorities have been tasked with how to protect the third most populous state in America with a population of 20.6million.
A large number of mandatory evacuation orders have been made, with an estimated 5.6million told to leave their homes.
If the majority heed the warning, it will be the largest evacuation in US history and the second largest in the world ever.
By comparison, around 3million left Texas and Louisiana before Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005.
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