Hurricane Irma effects potentially catastrophic

Irma, the most powerful Atlantic hurricane in a decade has hit the Caribbean islands as British tourists are evacuated.

According to reports, the category five hurricane, the highest possible level, had intially struck the island of Bermuda with winds of at least 185mph, and was thought to be heading in the direction of Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Cuba before potentially hitting Florida.

British Airways sent an aircraft to collect 326 customers on Tuesday amid official warnings that the damages caused by Irma could "potentially" be "catastrophic".

The hurricane appeared on seismometers, designed to measure earthquakes, underlining its strength.

BBC reports claimed that the winds gusted at 250km/h, before recording equipment broke and no further readings were received.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump had authorised emergency pre-landfall declarations in Florida, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, and the Bahamas said they would evacuate six southern islands, according to The Telegraph.