Hurricane Irma

{{Main|Meteorological history of Hurricane Irma}}

{{Storm path|Irma 2017 path.png|left|colors=new}}

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) began monitoring a tropical wave over western Africa on August 26.{{cite web|author=Eric S. Blake|title=Graphical· Tropical Weather Outlook|url=http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/xgtwo/gtwo_archive.php?current_issuance=201708262339&basin=atl&fdays=5|publisher=National Hurricane Center|date=August 26, 2017|access-date=August 30, 2017|location=Miami, Florida|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170831084314/http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/xgtwo/gtwo_archive.php?current_issuance=201708262339&basin=atl&fdays=5|archive-date=August 31, 2017|url-status=live}} Developing into a tropical depression just west of the Cape Verde Islands early on August 31, becoming Tropical Storm Irma shortly afterwards. Under favorable conditions, Irma underwent rapid intensification, becoming a major hurricane on September 1. Within a 48-hour period, the hurricane's intensity had increased by {{convert|65|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}. Fluctuations occurred over the next few days due to internal processes, as The first aircraft reconnaissance mission discovered an eye {{convert|29|mi|km|abbr=on}} in diameter and surface winds of {{convert|115|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} on September 3.{{cite web|author=Daniel P. Brown|title=Hurricane Irma Discussion Number 17|url=http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2017/al11/al112017.discus.017.shtml?|publisher=National Hurricane Center|access-date=September 5, 2017|date=September 3, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904002242/http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2017/al11/al112017.discus.017.shtml|archive-date=September 4, 2017|url-status=live}}{{cite web|author=Richard J. Pasch|title=Hurricane Irma Discussion Number 19|url=http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2017/al11/al112017.discus.019.shtml?|publisher=National Hurricane Center|access-date=September 5, 2017|date=September 3, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904074235/http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2017/al11/al112017.discus.019.shtml|archive-date=September 4, 2017|url-status=live}}

{{Strongest landfalling Atlantic hurricanes|align=right}}

As Irma continued approaching the Leeward Islands, the hurricane underwent a second and more robust period of rapid intensification, becoming a Category 5 hurricane early on September 5. The extremely powerful hurricane continued to intensify, with maximum sustained winds peaking at {{convert|180|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} shortly afterwards. Irma acquired annular characteristics around this time, with the storm exhibiting a large, symmetric CDO and an impressive satellite appearance.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2017/al11/al112017.discus.028.shtml?|title=Hurricane Irma Discussion Number 28|website=www.nhc.noaa.gov|author=Richard Pasch|publisher=National Hurricane Center|location=Miami, Florida|date=September 6, 2017|access-date=February 19, 2019}} Irma continued to intensify while approaching the northern Leeward Islands. At 05:45 UTC on September 6, Irma made landfall along the northern coast of Barbuda at peak intensity, with the storm's central minimum pressure having bottomed out at {{convert|914|mbar|inHg|abbr=on}} – this was the lowest in the Atlantic since Dean in 2007; the storm also made landfall with maximum sustained winds of {{convert|180|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}. Irma continued to maintain its peak intensity until 12:00 UTC on September 6 and made additional successive landfalls on that same day, at 11:15 UTC on Sint Maarten, and at 16:30 UTC on Virgin Gorda, in the British Virgin Islands.

File:NASA Hot water ahead for Hurricane Irma.jpg

Irma maintained Category 5 strength for several days as it passed north of the Greater Antilles. After beginning an eyewall replacement cycle, Irma weakened to a Category 4 hurricane as it passed south of the Turks and Caicos Islands early on September 8, subsequently ending the 60-hour contiguous period of Irma maintaining Category 5 intensity, the second-longest any Atlantic storm had maintained winds above {{convert|156|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} – behind only the 1932 Cuba hurricane. The hurricane then began tracking more to the west due to the intensification of a subtropical ridge to its north. Once the eyewall replacement cycle was complete, Irma began to re-intensify, and it re-attained Category 5 intensity at 18:00 UTC that day east of Cuba, before the hurricane then made landfall in Cayo Romano, Cuba, at 03:00 UTC on September 9, with winds of {{convert|165|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}. This made Irma only the second Category 5 hurricane to strike Cuba in recorded history, after the 1924 Cuba hurricane. As the eye of Irma moved along the northern coast of Cuba, gradual weakening ensued due to land interaction, with the eye becoming cloud-filled and the intensity falling to a high-end Category 2 storm later on September 9.

File:Katia, Irma, Jose 2017-09-08 1745Z–1935Z.jpg, Irma, and Jose, the first occurrence since 2010.]]

After slowing down late on September 9, the hurricane turned northwestward towards Florida around the southwestern edge of the subtropical high to its northeast and a low-pressure system that was located over the continental United States. Moving over the warm waters of the Straits of Florida, Irma quickly restrengthened to a Category 4 hurricane at 06:00 UTC on September 10, as deep convection improved and the eye became better defined. The cyclone made landfall in Cudjoe Key, Florida, at 13:00 UTC on September 10, at Category 4 intensity, with winds of {{convert|130|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}. Increasing wind shear and land interaction caused the satellite appearance of the storm to become ragged later that day, and Irma weakened to Category 3 intensity before making its seventh and final landfall at 19:30 UTC, in Marco Island, Florida, with sustained winds of {{convert|115|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}. Once Irma had moved inland, it began to accelerate to the north-northwest, while rapid weakening began to occur due to the increasing wind shear, land interaction, and dry air, with the storm falling below Category 3 intensity hours after landfall. Irma finally weakened to a tropical storm on September 11 as it entered southern Georgia, while transitioning into an extratropical cyclone,{{cite web|author=Richard J. Pasch|title=Tropical Storm Irma Discussion Number 50|url=http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2017/al11/al112017.discus.050.shtml|publisher=National Hurricane Center|access-date=March 19, 2018|date=September 11, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180212201921/https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2017/al11/al112017.discus.050.shtml|archive-date=February 12, 2018|url-status=live}} degenerating into a remnant low early on September 12. The remnants dissipated over Missouri on September 13.{{cite report|author=John P. Cangialosi|author2=Andrew S. Latto|author3=Robbie J. Berg|publisher=National Hurricane Center|date=March 9, 2018|access-date=March 12, 2018|title=Hurricane Irma (AL112017)|series=Tropical Cyclone Report|url=https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL112017_Irma.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180831040906/https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL112017_Irma.pdf|archive-date=August 31, 2018|url-status=live}}

File:Irma RBTOP 20170905 0715 UTC.gif

Given that Irma's forecast track was along much of the Caribbean island chain, hurricane warnings were issued for the northern Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico, and parts of Hispaniola on September 5.

In Antigua and Barbuda, residents safeguarded their homes and cleaned up their properties in anticipation of strong winds. Emergency crews were put on standby at public shelters and hospitals by September 5 to assist with any evacuations.{{cite news|url=https://antiguaobserver.com/disaster-coordinator-barbuda-ready-and-prepared-for-the-passage-of-hurricane-irma/|title=Disaster Coordinator: Barbuda ready and prepared for the passage of Hurricane Irma|date=September 5, 2017|newspaper=The Daily Observer|access-date=September 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170906013221/https://antiguaobserver.com/disaster-coordinator-barbuda-ready-and-prepared-for-the-passage-of-hurricane-irma/|archive-date=September 6, 2017|url-status=live}} Expecting a direct hit, more than half of the residents on Barbuda took shelter,{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/06/world/americas/hurricane-irma-update.html|title=Hurricane Irma: Storm Leaves Major Damage on Some Islands|newspaper=The New York Times|date=September 6, 2017|access-date=September 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170906122339/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/06/world/americas/hurricane-irma-update.html|archive-date=September 6, 2017|url-status=live}} and relief supplies were preemptively mobilized.{{cite news|url=https://antiguaobserver.com/pm-says-relief-efforts-are-already-underway-for-ab/|title=PM says relief efforts are already underway for A&B|date=September 5, 2017|newspaper=The Daily Observer|access-date=September 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170906005737/https://antiguaobserver.com/pm-says-relief-efforts-are-already-underway-for-ab/|archive-date=September 6, 2017|url-status=live}} The National Emergency Management Organization on Saint Lucia urged small craft operators and swimmers to be mindful of forecasts for high surf.{{cite news|title=Hurricane Irma approaches Northern Leeward Islands|url=https://stluciatimes.com/2017/09/04/hurricane-irma-approaches-northern-leewards|newspaper=St. Lucia Times|date=September 4, 2017|access-date=September 4, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905103358/https://stluciatimes.com/2017/09/04/hurricane-irma-approaches-northern-leewards|archive-date=September 5, 2017|url-status=dead}} Small Craft Warnings and High Surf Advisories were hoisted for Dominica, where residents were urged to remain vigilant of the potential for high waves, landslides, and flooding.{{cite news|title=Tropical Storm Watch remains in effect for Dominica|url=http://dominicanewsonline.com/news/homepage/news/weather/tropical-storm-watch-remains-in-effect-for-dominica/|newspaper=Dominica News Online|date=September 4, 2017|access-date=September 4, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905135730/http://dominicanewsonline.com/news/homepage/news/weather/tropical-storm-watch-remains-in-effect-for-dominica/|archive-date=September 5, 2017|url-status=live}}

In Guadeloupe, low-lying and cliff-edge homes were evacuated at the threat of flooding and erosion. Schools and public businesses closed on September 5 and 6. Hospitals stocked up on three days' worth of supplies and checked the functionality of their generators.{{cite news|title=Comment la Guadeloupe, Saint-Barth et Saint-Martin se préparent à l'ouragan Irma|url=http://www.20minutes.fr/societe/2126667-20170905-comment-guadeloupe-saint-barth-saint-martin-preparent-ouragan-irma|agency=Agence France-Presse|publisher=20 minutes|date=September 4, 2017|access-date=September 4, 2017|language=fr|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905050753/http://www.20minutes.fr/societe/2126667-20170905-comment-guadeloupe-saint-barth-saint-martin-preparent-ouragan-irma|archive-date=September 5, 2017|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=Irma. Un ouragan aussi fort qu'Harvey attendu dans les Caraïbes|url=http://www.ouest-france.fr/catastrophes/ouragan/irma-un-ouragan-aussi-fort-qu-harvey-attendu-dans-les-caraibes-5223396|access-date=September 5, 2017|work=Ouest France|agency=Agence France-Presse|date=September 4, 2017|language=fr|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904231907/http://www.ouest-france.fr/catastrophes/ouragan/irma-un-ouragan-aussi-fort-qu-harvey-attendu-dans-les-caraibes-5223396|archive-date=September 4, 2017|url-status=live}} Of the island's 32 communes, 22 activated their emergency plans; 1,500 people were urged to take shelter.{{cite tweet|title=Passage de l'ouragan IRMA en #Guadeloupe. Point de situation, ce mercredi 6 sept. à 5h|user=Prefet971|author=Préfet de Guadeloupe|date=September 6, 2017|number=905357779950592000}} The island sustained relatively minor damage and became the base for relief efforts on Saint Martin and Saint Barthélemy.{{cite news|url=https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/the-latest-dutch-king-says-devastation-is-worst-hes-seen |title=The Latest: Hurricane upends Delaware couple's celebration |work=National Post |date=September 13, 2017 |access-date=September 13, 2017}} Though the core of the hurricane was expected to remain north of the island, a yellow alert was issued for Martinique due to the likelihood of rough seas.{{cite web|title=Le dangereux Ouragan Irma se rapproche des Antilles|url=http://la1ere.francetvinfo.fr/martinique/dangereux-ouragan-irma-se-rapproche-antilles-507739.html|publisher=franceinfo|date=September 4, 2017|access-date=September 4, 2017|language=fr|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904205200/http://la1ere.francetvinfo.fr/martinique/dangereux-ouragan-irma-se-rapproche-antilles-507739.html|archive-date=September 4, 2017|url-status=live}} The island dispatched relief supplies and military reinforcements to its neighboring islands of Guadeloupe, Saint Martin. and Saint Barthélemy, which faced a greater risk of a direct impact.{{cite news|title=La Martinique envoie des renforts en Guadeloupe, Saint-Barthélemy et Saint-Martin|url=http://la1ere.francetvinfo.fr/martinique/martinique-envoie-renforts-guadeloupe-saint-barthelemy-saint-martin-508177.html|author=Peggy Pinel-Fereol|publisher=France Télévisions|date=September 5, 2017|access-date=September 7, 2017|language=fr|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170906183248/http://la1ere.francetvinfo.fr/martinique/martinique-envoie-renforts-guadeloupe-saint-barthelemy-saint-martin-508177.html|archive-date=September 6, 2017|url-status=live}}

On September 4, Puerto Rico declared a state of emergency.{{Cite news|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/news/349143-florida-governor-declares-state-of-emergency-over-hurricane-irma/|title=Florida governor declares state of emergency over Hurricane Irma|author=Rebecca Savaransky|date=September 4, 2017|newspaper=The Hill|access-date=September 4, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904232033/http://thehill.com/homenews/news/349143-florida-governor-declares-state-of-emergency-over-hurricane-irma|archive-date=September 4, 2017|url-status=live}} By September 6, the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency had deployed response teams in Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands. Supplies, including food rations, medical supplies, and blankets, were pre-staged in strategic locations on the islands for distribution.{{Cite news|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-fema-harvey-irma-20170906-story.html|title=FEMA still focused on responding to Harvey with dwindling cash as Irma looms|author=Michael Biesecker and Andrew Taylor|date=September 6, 2017|newspaper=The Chicago Tribune|access-date=September 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909135730/http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-fema-harvey-irma-20170906-story.html|archive-date=September 9, 2017|url-status=live}}

On September 5, the Dominican Republic activated the International Charter on Space and Major Disasters, thus providing for humanitarian satellite coverage;{{cite web |url=https://disasterscharter.org/web/guest/-/ocean-wave-in-dominican-republic-call-628-?redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fdisasterscharter.org%2Fweb%2Fguest%2Fhome%3Fp_p_id%3D101_INSTANCE_F1SeOJT57fTb%26p_p_lifecycle%3D0%26p_p_state%3Dnormal%26p_p_mode%3Dview%26p_p_col_id%3Dcolumn-1%26p_p_col_pos%3D2%26p_p_col_count%3D4 |title=Hurricane Irma in the Dominican Republic |date=September 5, 2017 |website=International Charter Space & Major Disasters |access-date=September 6, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170907054148/https://disasterscharter.org/web/guest/-/ocean-wave-in-dominican-republic-call-628-?redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fdisasterscharter.org%2Fweb%2Fguest%2Fhome%3Fp_p_id%3D101_INSTANCE_F1SeOJT57fTb%26p_p_lifecycle%3D0%26p_p_state%3Dnormal%26p_p_mode%3Dview%26p_p_col_id%3Dcolumn-1%26p_p_col_pos%3D2%26p_p_col_count%3D4 |archive-date=September 7, 2017 |url-status=dead }} the United States and Haiti followed suit two days later.{{cite web |url=https://disasterscharter.org/web/guest/-/flood-in-united-states-call-629- |title=Hurricane Irma in the United States |date=September 7, 2017 |website=International Charter Space & Major Disasters |access-date=September 11, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010122027/https://disasterscharter.org/web/guest/-/flood-in-united-states-call-629- |archive-date=October 10, 2017 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |url=https://disasterscharter.org/web/guest/-/flood-in-haiti-call-630- |title=Irma in Haiti |date=September 7, 2017 |website=International Charter Space & Major Disasters |access-date=September 11, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010122034/https://disasterscharter.org/web/guest/-/flood-in-haiti-call-630- |archive-date=October 10, 2017 |url-status=dead }} According to officials, 11,200 people were evacuated from vulnerable areas prior to the storm's arrival.{{cite web |url=http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/jamaica-trying-to-determine-severity-of-irma-8217-s-impact-on-caribbean-neighbours-france-britain-holland-rush-aid-to-devastated-islands_110330?profile=1373 |title=Jamaica trying to determine severity of Irma's impact on Caribbean neighbours |date=September 8, 2017 |work=The Jamaica Observer |access-date=September 10, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909141957/http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/jamaica-trying-to-determine-severity-of-irma-8217-s-impact-on-caribbean-neighbours-france-britain-holland-rush-aid-to-devastated-islands_110330?profile=1373 |archive-date=September 9, 2017 |url-status=live }} Approximately 7,400 tourists were moved to Santo Domingo, away from beach resorts. In Haiti, government officials and aid organizations struggled with early preparation and evacuation efforts. While some officials blamed reluctance and indifference on the part of the population, others "admitted they were not prepared for the onslaught and no mandatory evacuation orders were in place ahead of Irma's approach."{{cite news|title=Irma's destruction: island by island|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/07/irma-destruction-island-by-island-hurricane|work=The Guardian|date=September 9, 2017|access-date=September 10, 2017|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908024727/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/07/irma-destruction-island-by-island-hurricane|archive-date=September 8, 2017|url-status=live}} Local officials contended that they had not received promised funds, supplies, or equipment from the national government. The United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti prepared its 1,000 peacekeepers and engineers to assist.{{cite news|title=Vulnerable Haiti escapes worst of Hurricane Irma but flooding risks continue|url=http://www.miamiherald.com/news/weather/hurricane/article171822327.html|author=Jacqueline Charles|work=The Miami Herald|date=September 8, 2017|access-date=September 7, 2017|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908100401/http://www.miamiherald.com/news/weather/hurricane/article171822327.html|archive-date=September 8, 2017|url-status=live}}

In the Turks and Caicos, evacuation orders were issued for low-lying areas starting September 5. Schools were closed, government buildings were boarded up, and shelters were opened.{{cite news|title=Turks and Caicos Islands residents told not to take Hurricane Irma lightly|url=http://suntci.com/turks-and-caicos-islands-residents-told-not-to-take-hurricane-irma-lightly-p2982-108.htm|newspaper=The Turks and Caicos Sun|date=September 5, 2017|access-date=September 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909052819/http://suntci.com/turks-and-caicos-islands-residents-told-not-to-take-hurricane-irma-lightly-p2982-108.htm|archive-date=September 9, 2017|url-status=dead}} Officials spread warnings to residents in English, Creole, and Spanish via social media, radio, SMS text, and WhatsApp.{{cite news|title=Hurricane Irma doesn't have to be a disaster says TCI's Disaster Management director|url=http://suntci.com/hurricane-irma-doesnt-have-to-be-a-disaster-says-tcis-disaster-management-p2983-108.htm|newspaper=The Turks and Caicos Sun|date=September 5, 2017|access-date=September 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909053513/http://suntci.com/hurricane-irma-doesnt-have-to-be-a-disaster-says-tcis-disaster-management-p2983-108.htm|archive-date=September 9, 2017|url-status=live}} In The Bahamas, the government began preparations the week prior to the hurricane's arrival, including securing national sports facilities to use as shelters.{{cite news|title=National sporting facilities prepared for Irma|url=http://www.thenassauguardian.com/sports/76102-national-sporting-facilities-prepared-for-irma|author=Randy Smith|work=The Nassau Guardian|date=September 8, 2017|access-date=September 8, 2017|language=en-GB|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909054629/http://www.thenassauguardian.com/sports/76102-national-sporting-facilities-prepared-for-irma|archive-date=September 9, 2017|url-status=dead}} By September 7, the government had evacuated 1,609 people by air from the southern islands, including 365 from Bimini.{{cite news|title=PM Warns: Stay Indoors And Heed All Warnings|url=http://www.tribune242.com/news/2017/sep/08/pm-warns-stay-indoors-and-heed-all-warnings/|newspaper=The Nassau Tribune|date=September 8, 2017|access-date=September 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908211141/http://www.tribune242.com/news/2017/sep/08/pm-warns-stay-indoors-and-heed-all-warnings/|archive-date=September 8, 2017|url-status=live}} Controlled cutting of the power supply to southern and central Bahamian islands was conducted in advance of the storm.{{cite news|title=Power, water supply on NP to remain on 'as long as possible'|url=http://www.thenassauguardian.com/news/76113|author=Sloan Smith|work=The Nassau Guardian|date=September 8, 2017|access-date=September 8, 2017|language=en-GB|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909054718/http://www.thenassauguardian.com/news/76113|archive-date=September 9, 2017|url-status=live}} Shelters were made available, though usage was low due to most evacuees staying with family on other islands.{{cite news|title=Prepare Kit To Bring To Shelters|url=http://www.tribune242.com/news/2017/sep/08/prepare-kit-to-bring-to-shelters/|newspaper=The Nassau Tribune|date=September 8, 2017|access-date=September 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908224654/http://www.tribune242.com/news/2017/sep/08/prepare-kit-to-bring-to-shelters/|archive-date=September 8, 2017|url-status=live}} Of the 2,679 foreign tourists still in The Bahamas on September 7, about 1,200 were being housed at Atlantis Paradise Island, one of the most hurricane-ready structures in the country.{{cite news|title=Atlantis Open To 1,200 Guests During Irma|url=http://www.tribune242.com/news/2017/sep/08/atlantis-open-1200-guests-during-irma/?news|newspaper=The Nassau Tribune|date=September 8, 2017|access-date=September 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909052855/http://www.tribune242.com/news/2017/sep/08/atlantis-open-1200-guests-during-irma/?news|archive-date=September 9, 2017|url-status=live}}

In Cuba, meteorologists did not initially predict a direct hit. Fuel conservation was enacted in Camagüey Province to ensure that enough would be available during post-storm power outages.{{cite news|title=Taken in Camagüey for protection of fuels|url=http://www.cadenagramonte.cu/english/show/articles/26670:taken-in-camaguey-for-protection-of-fuels|newspaper=Radio Cadena Agramonte|date=September 8, 2017|access-date=September 9, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909185713/http://www.cadenagramonte.cu/english/show/articles/26670:taken-in-camaguey-for-protection-of-fuels|archive-date=September 9, 2017|url-status=live}} The Civil Defense evacuated nearly one million people from low-lying areas, including thousands of Canadian and European tourists in the Jardines del Rey.{{cite news|title=Cuba prepares for destructive power of Hurricane Irma|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cuba-prepares-for-hurricane-irma/|work=CBS News|date=September 8, 2017|access-date=September 9, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909130905/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cuba-prepares-for-hurricane-irma/|archive-date=September 9, 2017|url-status=live}} Dolphins at a Cayo Guillermo resort were evacuated by helicopter.

The NHC issued several watches and warnings for the Southeastern United States. The first watches and warnings were issued at 15:00 UTC on September 7, which was a hurricane watch from the Jupiter Inlet to Bonita Beach, including the Florida Keys and Lake Okeechobee. The watches and warnings were extended into Georgia and South Carolina on September 9. At 21:00 UTC on that day, the advisories reached their maximum extent, with a hurricane warning covering the entire east coast of the state, the west coast from Indian Pass southward, and the Florida Keys; a hurricane watch was in place from the Florida–Georgia state line to Edisto Beach, South Carolina; and there were two tropical storm warnings, one in Florida from Indian Pass to the Okaloosa–Walton county line and the other from the Florida–Georgia state line to the South Santee River in South Carolina. Watches and warnings were gradually discontinued as Irma moved inland and weakened, with all of them canceled by early on September 12.

{{main|Effects of Hurricane Irma in Florida#Preparations}}

File:Florida Governor Rick Scott on Evacuations.webmsd.webm on Evacuations' video from Voice of America ]]

On September 4, Florida Governor Rick Scott declared a state of emergency. Governor Scott placed 100 members of the Florida National Guard on duty to assist in preparations. All 7,000 troops were ordered to be on duty by September 8.{{cite report|url=https://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Documents/loaddoc.aspx?PublicationType=Committees&CommitteeId=2978&Session=2018&DocumentType=General%20Publications&FileName=SCHRP%20-%20Final%20Report%20online.pdf|title=Select Committee on Hurricane Response and Preparedness Final Report|date=January 16, 2018|publisher=Florida House of Representatives|pages=1–5|access-date=January 19, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125015850/https://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Documents/loaddoc.aspx?PublicationType=Committees&CommitteeId=2978&Session=2018&DocumentType=General%20Publications&FileName=SCHRP%20-%20Final%20Report%20online.pdf|archive-date=January 25, 2018|url-status=live}} Officials advised residents to stock their hurricane kits.{{cite news|author1=Lance Dixon|author2=David J. Neal|author3=Jane Woolridge|newspaper=Miami Herald|date=September 4, 2017|access-date=September 5, 2017|title=How South Florida is gearing up for the storm|url=http://www.miamiherald.com/news/weather/hurricane/article171243027.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905011733/http://www.miamiherald.com/news/weather/hurricane/article171243027.html|archive-date=September 5, 2017|url-status=live}} The state coordinated with electrical companies in order for power outages to be restored as quickly as possible, extending resources such as equipment, fuel, and lodging for the approximately 24,000 restoration personnel who had been activated. Governor Scott suspended tolls on all toll roads in Florida, including the turnpike. All state offices in Florida were closed from September 8 to September 11, while public schools, state colleges, and state universities in all 67 counties were closed during the same period. The Florida Department of Education coordinated with school districts as the need for transportation by school buses and opening shelters arose. By September 9, more than 150 state parks were closed.{{cite web|title=Gov. Scott Issues Updates on Hurricane Irma Preparedness|url=https://www.flgov.com/2017/09/09/gov-scott-issues-updates-on-hurricane-irma-preparedness-10/|website=Office of Governor Rick Scott|access-date=January 12, 2018|date=September 9, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125015640/https://www.flgov.com/2017/09/09/gov-scott-issues-updates-on-hurricane-irma-preparedness-10/|archive-date=January 25, 2018|url-status=dead}} Throughout the state, almost 700 emergency shelters were opened. The shelters collectively housed about 191,764 people, with more than 40% of them staying in a shelter in South Florida. Additionally, more than 60 special needs shelters were opened, which housed more than 5,000 people by September 9.

File:Hurricane Irma 2017 Doral preparations.jpg installing hurricane shutters in advance of the storm]]

Many airports across the state, particularly in Central and South Florida, were closed. Nearly 9,000 flights intending to arrive in or depart from Florida were canceled.{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/todayinthesky/2017/09/10/hurricane-irma-airlines-cancellations-pile-up-florida-ahead-landfall/650592001/|title=Hurricane Irma: Flight cancellations top 12,500; even more expected|date=September 11, 2017|author=Ben Mutzabaugh|newspaper=USA Today|access-date=January 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180118090919/https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/todayinthesky/2017/09/10/hurricane-irma-airlines-cancellations-pile-up-florida-ahead-landfall/650592001/|archive-date=January 18, 2018|url-status=live}} Along Florida's coasts, most seaports were closed or opened with restricted access. For the fifth time in its 45-year history, the Walt Disney World Resort was completely closed due to the storm. Its theme parks, water parks, and Disney Springs were all closed by 9:00 p.m. on September 9 and remained closed until September 12. Other Orlando-area theme parks, including Universal Orlando Resort and SeaWorld Orlando, were also closed.{{Cite news|url=http://www.orlandosentinel.com/weather/hurricane/os-hurricane-irma-disney-closes-orlando-20170908-story.html|title=Hurricane Irma forces Disney, Universal, SeaWorld closings in Orlando|author=Dewayne Bevil|date=September 8, 2017|work=Orlando Sentinel|access-date=September 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908204248/http://www.orlandosentinel.com/weather/hurricane/os-hurricane-irma-disney-closes-orlando-20170908-story.html|archive-date=September 8, 2017|url-status=live|language=en-US}} The Kennedy Space Center was closed from September 8 to September 15.{{cite web|url=https://www.nasa.gov/feature/kennedy-space-center-safely-weathers-hurricane-irma|title=Kennedy Space Center Safely Weathers Hurricane Irma|author=Anna Heiney|date=September 25, 2017|publisher=National Aeronautics and Space Administration|access-date=January 23, 2018}}

An estimated 6.5 million Floridians were ordered to evacuate, mostly those living on barrier islands or in coastal areas; in mobile or sub-standard homes; and in low-lying or flood prone areas. Mandatory evacuations were ordered for portions of Brevard, Broward, Citrus, Collier, Dixie, Duval, Flagler, Glades, Hendry, Hernando, Indian River, Lee, Martin, Miami-Dade, Orange, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Lucie, Sumter, and Volusia counties. All of Monroe County, where the Florida Keys are located, was placed under a mandatory evacuation. Residents in communities near the southern half of Lake Okeechobee were also ordered to leave. Additionally, voluntary evacuation notices were issued for all or parts of Alachua, Baker, Bay, Bradford, Charlotte, Columbia, Desoto, Hardee, Highlands, Hillsborough, Lake, Manatee, Okeechobee, Osceola, and Polk counties.

File:Emergency shoulder use Interstate 4 before Hurricane Irma 3.jpg by moving traffic), while westbound lanes are almost empty at 5 p.m. on a Saturday afternoon]]

A record 6.5 million Floridians evacuated, making it the largest evacuation in the state's history. Evacuees caused significant traffic congestion on northbound Interstate 95, Interstate 75, and Florida's Turnpike, exacerbated by the fact that the entire Florida peninsula was within the cone of uncertainty in the NHC's forecast path in the days before the storm, so evacuees from both coasts headed north, as evacuees would not be safer by fleeing to the opposite coast. Fuel was in short supply throughout peninsular Florida during the week before Irma's arrival, especially along evacuation routes, leading to hours-long lines at fuel stations and even escorts of fuel trucks by the Florida Highway Patrol.{{cite web|title=Gov. Scott Issues Updates on Hurricane Irma Preparedness|url=http://www.flgov.com/2017/09/07/gov-scott-issues-updates-on-hurricane-irma-preparedness-5/|website=Office of Governor Rick Scott|access-date=September 10, 2017|date=September 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908090649/http://www.flgov.com/2017/09/07/gov-scott-issues-updates-on-hurricane-irma-preparedness-5/|archive-date=September 8, 2017|url-status=dead}}

Use of the left shoulder as a lane for moving traffic was allowed on northbound Interstate 75 from Wildwood to the Georgia state line beginning September 8 and on eastbound Interstate 4 from Tampa to State Road 429 near Celebration for a few hours on September 9. It was the first time that the shoulder-use plan, which was introduced at the start of the 2017 hurricane season, was implemented by the state for hurricane evacuations. The shoulder-use plan was implemented in place of labor- and resource-intensive contraflow lane reversal, in which both sides of an interstate highway are used for one direction of traffic.{{cite news|author=Wayne Roustan|title=State introducing new hurricane evacuation plan this year|url=http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/transportation/fl-hurricane-one-way-evacuations-20170518-story.html|access-date=September 10, 2017|work=Sun-Sentinel|date=May 26, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170911024607/http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/transportation/fl-hurricane-one-way-evacuations-20170518-story.html|archive-date=September 11, 2017|url-status=live}}{{cite news|author=Wayne Roustan|title=Hurricane Irma: I-4 shoulder opened to Tampa evacuees|url=http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/weather/hurricane/fl-reg-hurricane-irma-shoulders-open-20170909-story.html|access-date=September 10, 2017|newspaper=Sun-Sentinel|date=September 9, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170910004707/http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/weather/hurricane/fl-reg-hurricane-irma-shoulders-open-20170909-story.html|archive-date=September 10, 2017|url-status=live}}

Officials from the Environmental Protection Agency, which had been criticized for its response to Hurricane Harvey, took special measures to inspect and secure hazardous materials, especially at Superfund sites.{{Cite news|url=http://www.courant.com/nation-world/ct-irma-toxic-waste-sites-20170909-story.html|title=Flooding threatens toxic waste sites as Hurricane Irma nears|author1=Michael Biesecker|author2=Jason Dearen|date=September 9, 2017|work=The Hartford Courant|access-date=September 11, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912104053/http://www.courant.com/nation-world/ct-irma-toxic-waste-sites-20170909-story.html|archive-date=September 12, 2017|url-status=live|language=en-US}} Direct Relief, a disaster relief organization, coordinated with local health centers and provided resources to help facilities on the front lines of Floridian and Puerto Rican communities.{{Cite web|url=https://www.directrelief.org/emergency/hurricane-irma/|title=Hurricane Irma|date=September 11, 2017|website=Direct Relief|language=en-US|access-date=March 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327143909/https://www.directrelief.org/emergency/hurricane-irma/|archive-date=March 27, 2019|url-status=live}}

Georgia Governor Nathan Deal declared a state of emergency initially for all six coastal counties on September 6, but eventually expanded the declaration to 94 counties south of Atlanta metropolitan area, and then the entire state on September 10. Atlanta was placed under its first-ever tropical storm warning.{{cite news|author=Meris Lutz|title=Hurricane Irma: Gov. Deal expands state of emergency to all Georgia|url=http://www.ajc.com/news/hurricane-irma-gov-deal-expands-state-emergency-all-georgia/gJuGdHkbvcYtCc2jEEE5CM/|work=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution|access-date=September 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170910210326/http://www.ajc.com/news/hurricane-irma-gov-deal-expands-state-emergency-all-georgia/gJuGdHkbvcYtCc2jEEE5CM/|archive-date=September 10, 2017|url-status=live}}{{cite web|author1=Scott Unger|author2=Patricia Sullivan|author3=David A. Fahrenthold|title=Hurricane Irma packs a double punch|url=http://www.courant.com/nation-world/ct-hurricane-irma-florida-20170910-story.html|work=The Hartford Courant|date=September 10, 2017|access-date=September 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010121045/http://www.courant.com/nation-world/ct-hurricane-irma-florida-20170910-story.html|archive-date=October 10, 2017|url-status=live}} Governor Deal ordered mandatory evacuations for all areas east of Interstate 95 on September 7, before extending the order to the entirety of Chatham County and low-lying areas west of I-95 on the following day.{{cite news|author=Kristina Torres|title=Hurricane Irma: Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal extends state of emergency to 64 more counties|url=https://www.ajc.com/news/state--regional-govt--politics/hurricane-irma-gov-deal-says-georgia-ready-urges-coastal-residents-flee-inland/w7fIS4NzMkoN7O7rFhUlwL/|access-date=September 9, 2017|work=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909021930/http://www.ajc.com/news/state--regional-govt--politics/hurricane-irma-georgia-gov-nathan-deal-extends-state-emergency-more-counties/w7fIS4NzMkoN7O7rFhUlwL/|archive-date=September 9, 2017|url-status=live}} In total, 540,000 people on the Georgia coast were ordered to leave.{{cite news|title=Cuba lashed by category five winds as storm heads to US – as it happened|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2017/sep/07/hurricane-irma-live-latest-updates-caribbean|access-date=September 9, 2017|work=The Guardian|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170910000252/https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2017/sep/07/hurricane-irma-live-latest-updates-caribbean|archive-date=September 10, 2017|url-status=live}} Contraflow lane reversal for Interstate 16 took effect on the morning of September 9 from Savannah to Dublin, Georgia.{{cite news|author1=Lauren Foreman|author2=Ellen Eldridge|title=Hurricane Irma: 30 Georgia counties under state of emergency|url=http://www.ajc.com/weather/hurricane-irma-georgia-counties-under-state-emergency/6WgtbgDj9R3GfV8Uim14rM/|access-date=September 7, 2017|work=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution}}{{Dead link|date=July 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} All Georgia state parks were open for free to evacuees, as was the 800-acre camping area at Atlanta Motor Speedway.{{cite web |url=http://whnt.com/2017/09/06/atlanta-motor-speedway-offers-free-campground-space-for-irma-evacuees/ |title=Talladega Superspeedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway offer free campground space for Irma evacuees |date=September 6, 2017 |publisher=WHNT News 19 |access-date=September 8, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908201116/http://whnt.com/2017/09/06/atlanta-motor-speedway-offers-free-campground-space-for-irma-evacuees/ |archive-date=September 8, 2017 |url-status=live }} Reversible HOT lanes on Interstate 75 in Georgia through south metro Atlanta were open 24 hours northbound with no tolls.{{cite web |url=http://www.cbs46.com/story/36317292/tolls-to-be-suspended-on-i-75-express-lanes-south-of-atlanta |title=Tolls to be suspended on I-75 express lanes south of Atlanta |publisher=CBS46 |access-date=September 8, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908064834/http://www.cbs46.com/story/36317292/tolls-to-be-suspended-on-i-75-express-lanes-south-of-atlanta |archive-date=September 8, 2017 |url-status=live }}

File:Hurricane Irma -- Prepare Now.webm Nat Robertson]]

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper declared a state of emergency on September 6,{{cite news|url=http://www.newsobserver.com/news/weather/article171616057.html|title=NC governor declares state of emergency ahead of 'powerful' Hurricane Irma: 'Get ready'|author1=Josh Shaffer|author2=Abbie Bennett|work=The News & Observer|date=September 6, 2017|access-date=September 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170907014303/http://www.newsobserver.com/news/weather/article171616057.html|archive-date=September 7, 2017|url-status=live}} with South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster following suit the same day.{{cite news|url=http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/news/local/article171519002.html|title=Hurricane Irma: SC Governor McMaster declares state of emergency|author=Elizabeth Townsend|work=The Sun News|date=September 6, 2017|access-date=September 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170906195351/http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/news/local/article171519002.html|archive-date=September 6, 2017|url-status=live}} Governor of Virginia Terry McAuliffe declared a state of emergency on September 8 in order to protect Virginia residents and to mobilize resources in support of neighboring states.{{cite news |author=Scott Wise |date=September 8, 2017 |title=Virginia Governor declares state of emergency ahead of Hurricane Irma |url=http://wtvr.com/2017/09/08/hurricane-irma-virginia-state-of-emergency/ |publisher=WTVR-TV |location=Richmond, Virginia |access-date=September 8, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170910100823/http://wtvr.com/2017/09/08/hurricane-irma-virginia-state-of-emergency/ |archive-date=September 10, 2017 |url-status=live }} Officials in New Orleans stated that there would not be much time for preparations if Irma failed to make the projected northward turn, but that South Texas or Florida would not be a good evacuation destination.{{cite news|url=http://www.wwltv.com/weather/irma/louisiana-planning-for-possible-impacts-from-irma/471264843|title=Louisiana planning for possible impacts from Hurricane Irma|author1=Paul Murphy|publisher=WWL-TV|date=September 5, 2017|access-date=September 9, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909093215/http://www.wwltv.com/weather/irma/louisiana-planning-for-possible-impacts-from-irma/471264843|archive-date=September 9, 2017|url-status=live}} On September 10, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam issued an executive order allowing medical professionals in other states to practice in Tennessee to aid Hurricane Irma evacuees. This order also allowed pharmacies to give out 14-day supplies of medicine, and gave women and children from outside the state the ability to participate in the Tennessee Department of Health programs.{{cite news|url=http://newschannel9.com/news/local/tn-gov-nathan-deal-issues-executive-order-for-irma-evacuees|title=TN Gov. Bill Haslam issues executive order for Irma evacuees|access-date=September 11, 2017|date=September 10, 2017|publisher=News 9 ABC News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170910211158/http://newschannel9.com/news/local/tn-gov-nathan-deal-issues-executive-order-for-irma-evacuees|archive-date=September 10, 2017|url-status=live}} Bristol Motor Speedway,{{cite web|author=Staff|title=Bristol Motor Speedway campground open to Irma evacuees|publisher=WCYB-TV|location=Bristol, VA|date=September 8, 2017|url=https://wcyb.com/news/tennessee-news/bristol-motor-speedway-campground-open-to-irma-evacuees|access-date=September 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180912022443/https://wcyb.com/news/tennessee-news/bristol-motor-speedway-campground-open-to-irma-evacuees|archive-date=September 12, 2018|url-status=live}} Talladega Superspeedway, and Charlotte Motor Speedway all opened their campgrounds to evacuees free of charge.

In professional sports, the Miami Dolphins–Tampa Bay Buccaneers game scheduled for September 10 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami was postponed to November 19 due to the storm's threat. The Dolphins left early for their road game against the Los Angeles Chargers.{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2017/09/08/how-hurricane-irma-affecting-sports-florida-weekend/646564001/|title=How Hurricane Irma is affecting sports this weekend|author=Kevin Spain|newspaper=USA Today|access-date=January 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125142946/https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2017/09/08/how-hurricane-irma-affecting-sports-florida-weekend/646564001/|archive-date=January 25, 2018|url-status=live}} The Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees moved their September 11–13 series from Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg to Citi Field in Queens. Minor League Baseball's Florida State League, Carolina League, and Southern League called off their championship finals and as a result, named their division series winners league co-champions.{{cite web|url=http://www.sportingnews.com/mlb/news/hurricane-irma-florida-state-league-championship-series-canceled-milb/kj32lgostj6u12aavdqdup60t|title=Florida State League cancels championship series as Hurricane Irma looms|author=Marc Lancaster|work=Sporting News|date=September 5, 2017|access-date=September 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170906224320/http://www.sportingnews.com/mlb/news/hurricane-irma-florida-state-league-championship-series-canceled-milb/kj32lgostj6u12aavdqdup60t|archive-date=September 6, 2017|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.milb.com/carolina/news/carolina-league-cancels-mills-cup-finals/c-253171924|title=Carolina League cancels Mills Cup Finals|publisher=Carolina League|access-date=September 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908221916/https://www.milb.com/carolina/news/carolina-league-cancels-mills-cup-finals/c-253171924|archive-date=September 8, 2017|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=https://www.milb.com/milb/news/2017-bc174-powder-southern-league-championship-series-canceled/c-252869500/t-185364810|title=Southern League Championship Series canceled|publisher=Minor League Baseball|access-date=September 9, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909052923/https://www.milb.com/milb/news/2017-bc174-powder-southern-league-championship-series-canceled/c-252869500/t-185364810|archive-date=September 9, 2017|url-status=dead}} The Miami FC versus San Francisco Deltas match on September 10 was canceled so the players and staff could prepare for the storm with their families.{{cite web|url=http://www.miamifc.com/news/2017/09/06/the-miami-fc-vs-san-francisco-deltas-match-postponed|title=The Miami FC vs. San Francisco Deltas Match Postponed|date=September 6, 2017|publisher=Miami FC|access-date=January 23, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010121939/http://www.miamifc.com/news/2017/09/06/the-miami-fc-vs-san-francisco-deltas-match-postponed|archive-date=October 10, 2017|url-status=live}} The Orlando Pride of the National Women's Soccer League rescheduled their September 9 match to September 7.{{cite news|author=Iliana Limón Romero|date=September 6, 2017|title=Hurricane Irma moves Orlando Pride, Seattle Reign match to Thursday|url=http://www.orlandosentinel.com/weather/hurricane/os-sp-hurricane-irma-orlando-pride-seattle-reign-20170906-story.html|newspaper=Orlando Sentinel|access-date=September 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170911030936/http://www.orlandosentinel.com/weather/hurricane/os-sp-hurricane-irma-orlando-pride-seattle-reign-20170906-story.html|archive-date=September 11, 2017|url-status=live}} Orlando City SC of Major League Soccer did not have any scheduled home games in September, but was unable to return to training facilities in Orlando due to Hurricane Irma.{{cite news|author=Alicia DelGallo|date=September 7, 2017|title=Hurricane Irma could strand Orlando City in Washington D.C.|url=http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/orlando-city-lions/on-the-pitch/os-sp-orlando-city-news-0908-story.html|newspaper=Orlando Sentinel|access-date=September 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170910065909/http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/orlando-city-lions/on-the-pitch/os-sp-orlando-city-news-0908-story.html|archive-date=September 10, 2017|url-status=live}}

In college football, the UCF Knights-Memphis Tigers game scheduled for September 9 was moved to September 30, replacing UCF's game against Maine and Memphis game against Georgia State. UCF also canceled their game against Georgia Tech on September 16, as UCF's stadium hosted the National Guard.{{cite news|url=https://www.pressherald.com/2017/09/14/umaine-football-game-vs-central-florida-canceled/|title=UMaine football game vs. Central Florida canceled|date=September 14, 2017|author=Mike Lowe|newspaper=Portland Press Herald|access-date=January 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125134857/https://www.pressherald.com/2017/09/14/umaine-football-game-vs-central-florida-canceled/|archive-date=January 25, 2018|url-status=live}} The USF Bulls-Connecticut Huskies football game was also canceled. The Miami Hurricanes–Arkansas State Redwolves game scheduled for September 9 at Centennial Bank Stadium in Arkansas was canceled due to travel concerns for the University of Miami. The Florida Gators-Northern Colorado Bears match in Gainesville scheduled for September 9 was canceled. The Florida State Seminoles contest against the Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks was canceled on September 8.{{cite news|url=https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/hurricane-irma-florida-florida-state-miami-among-teams-to-cancel-week-2-games/|title=Hurricane Irma: Florida, Florida State, Miami among teams to cancel games|date=September 8, 2017|author1=Chip Patterson|author2=Ton Fornelli|newspaper=CBS Sports|access-date=January 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125135016/https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/hurricane-irma-florida-florida-state-miami-among-teams-to-cancel-week-2-games/|archive-date=January 25, 2018|url-status=live}} The Seminoles' rivalry game with the Hurricanes in Tallahassee, originally scheduled for September 16, was postponed tp October 7. The FIU Panthers game against the Alcorn State Braves was moved up a day and relocated to Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama.{{cite web|url=http://www.fbschedules.com/2017/09/alcorn-state-fiu-birmingham-legion-field/|title=Alcorn State at FIU football game moved to Birmingham's Legion Field|author=Kevin Kelley|date=September 6, 2017|publisher=FBSchedules.com|access-date=January 23, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010121947/http://www.fbschedules.com/2017/09/alcorn-state-fiu-birmingham-legion-field/|archive-date=October 10, 2017|url-status=live}} The Georgia Southern Eagles game against the New Hampshire Wildcats on September 9 was also moved to Legion Field for that day.{{cite web|url=http://gseagles.com/news/2017/9/6/game-alert-georgia-southern-new-hampshire-football-game-moved-to-birmingham.aspx?path=football|title=Game Alert: Georgia Southern/New Hampshire Football Game Moved to Birmingham|publisher=Georgia Southern Athletics|date=September 6, 2017|access-date=September 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909004519/http://gseagles.com/news/2017/9/6/game-alert-georgia-southern-new-hampshire-football-game-moved-to-birmingham.aspx?path=football|archive-date=September 9, 2017|url-status=live}}

As of September 5, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding was running dangerously low, due to its response to Hurricane Harvey in Texas the previous week, prompting the Trump administration to request an immediate $8 billion in additional funding as Irma approached Florida.{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-05/fema-is-almost-out-of-money-as-hurricane-irma-threatens-florida|author1=Erik Wasson|author2=Christopher Flavelle|access-date=September 5, 2017|title=FEMA Is Almost Out of Money and Hurricane Irma Is Approaching|newspaper=Bloomberg.com|date=September 5, 2017|publisher=Bloomberg News|via=www.bloomberg.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905210110/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-05/fema-is-almost-out-of-money-as-hurricane-irma-threatens-florida|archive-date=September 5, 2017|url-status=live}} Given the rate that current funds are being consumed and the catastrophic damage, the United States Senate almost doubled the requested amount to $15.3 billion, with the understanding that this would only be about 10% of what will be required for responding to Harvey.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/07/us/politics/senate-harvey-irma-aid.html|title=Senate Votes to Raise Debt Limit and Approves $15 Billion in Hurricane Relief|author=Thomas Kaplan|date=September 7, 2017|work=The New York Times|access-date=September 8, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170907222602/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/07/us/politics/senate-harvey-irma-aid.html|archive-date=September 7, 2017|url-status=live}}

{| class="wikitable sortable floatright"

|+ Deaths and damage by territory{{cite report|url=https://www.cedim.de/download/FDA_Irma_2017%20vFinal.pdf|title=Hurricane Irma: Report No. 1, Focus on Caribbean up until 8th September 2017|publisher=Center for Disaster Management and Risk Reduction Technology|author1=James Daniell|author2=Bernhard Mühr|author3=Antonios Pomonis|author4=Andreas Schäfer|author5=Susanna Mohr|access-date=September 9, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909232814/https://www.cedim.de/download/FDA_Irma_2017%20vFinal.pdf|archive-date=September 9, 2017|url-status=dead}}

! Territory

! Fatalities

! Damage
(2017 USD)

! class="unsortable" | Ref

|- style="text-align:right;"

| scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | Anguilla (UK)

| 1

| {{ntsp|290000000||$}}

|

|- style="text-align: right;"

| scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | Bahamas

| 0

| {{ntsp|135000000||$}}

|

|- style="text-align: right;"

| scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | Barbados

| 1

| {{N/A}}

|

|- style="text-align:right;"

| scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | Barbuda (AG)

| 3

| {{ntsp|150000000||$}}

|

|- style="text-align:right;"

| scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | British Virgin Islands (UK)

| 4

| {{ntsp|3600000000||$}}

|{{cite web|url=https://www.caribank.org/publications/country-economic-review-2017-british-virgin-islands

|title=Country Economic Review 2017 – British Virgin Islands|publisher=Caribbean Development Bank|date=March 29, 2018|access-date=April 1, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180429101505/https://www.caribank.org/publications/country-economic-review-2017-british-virgin-islands|archive-date=April 29, 2018|url-status=dead}}

|- style="text-align:right;"

| scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | Cuba

| 10

| {{ntsp|13185000000||$}}

|{{cite news|author1=Mimi Whitefield|author2=Nora Gámez Torres|publisher=Miami Herald|date=September 11, 2017|access-date=September 12, 2017|title=Hurricane Irma claims 10 lives in Cuba|url=https://www.miamiherald.com/news/weather/hurricane/article172614411.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170911194922/http://www.miamiherald.com/news/weather/hurricane/article172614411.html|archive-date=September 11, 2017|url-status=live}}

|- style="text-align:right;"

| scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | Haiti

| 1

| {{N/A}}

|

|- style="text-align:right;"

| scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | Puerto Rico (U.S.)

| 3

| {{ntsp|1000000000||$}}

|{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-19/puerto-rico-faces-hurricane-maria-after-irma-s-1-billion-damage|title=Puerto Rico Faces Hurricane Maria After Irma's $1 Billion Damage|author=Michelle Kaske and Alexander Lopez|newspaper=Bloomberg.com|publisher=Bloomberg|date=September 19, 2017|access-date=September 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170920040856/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-19/puerto-rico-faces-hurricane-maria-after-irma-s-1-billion-damage|archive-date=September 20, 2017|url-status=live}}

|- style="text-align:right;"

| scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | Saint Kitts and Nevis

| 0

| {{ntsp|45000000||$}}

|

|- style="text-align:right;"

| scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | Saint Martin and Saint Barthélemy (FR)

| 11

| {{ntsp|4170000000||$}}

|{{cite news|title=IRMA, des dégâts évalués à 3,5 milliards|url=http://www.ledauphine.com/france-monde/2017/10/07/irma-des-degats-evalues-a-3-5-milliards-d-euros-a-saint-martin|publisher=Le Dauphiné Libéré|date=October 7, 2017|access-date=January 5, 2018|language=fr|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107011111/http://www.ledauphine.com/france-monde/2017/10/07/irma-des-degats-evalues-a-3-5-milliards-d-euros-a-saint-martin|archive-date=November 7, 2017|url-status=live}}

|- style="text-align:right;"

| scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | Sint Maarten (NL)

| 4

| {{ntsp|2980000000||$}}

|{{cite news|url=https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2017/09/14/sint-maarten-een-week-later-a1573423|title=Sint-Maarten, een week later|publisher=NRC Handelsblad|date=September 14, 2017|access-date=September 17, 2017|language=nl|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170915032910/https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2017/09/14/sint-maarten-een-week-later-a1573423|archive-date=September 15, 2017|url-status=live}}

|- style="text-align:right;"

| scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | Turks and Caicos Islands (UK)

| 0

| {{ntsp|500000000||$}}

|

|- style="text-align:right;"

| scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | United States

| 92Irma caused 82 indirect and 10 direct deaths in the U.S., 3 direct deaths in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and 3 indirect deaths in Puerto Rico.

| {{ntsp|50000000000||$}}

|{{cite web|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/florida-hurricane-irma-recovery-damage-2017-9|title=Florida and the Caribbean dig out of Hurricane Irma's devastation and begin a slow and costly recovery|author=Rebecca Harrington|work=The Guardian|date=September 12, 2017|access-date=September 13, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912181040/http://www.businessinsider.com/florida-hurricane-irma-recovery-damage-2017-9|archive-date=September 12, 2017|url-status=live}}

|- style="text-align:right;"

| scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | U.S. Virgin Islands

| 4

| {{ntsp|1100000000||$}}

|{{cite news|title=Hurricane Irma kills four in U.S. Virgin islands: government|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-storm-irma-virgin-islands/hurricane-irma-kills-four-in-u-s-virgin-islands-government-idUSKCN1BI35R|publisher=Reuters|date=September 7, 2017|access-date=September 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908015622/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-storm-irma-virgin-islands/hurricane-irma-kills-four-in-u-s-virgin-islands-government-idUSKCN1BI35R|archive-date=September 8, 2017|url-status=live}}

|- class="sortbottom"

! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | Totals:

! style="text-align:right;" | 134

! style="text-align:right;" | {{ntsp|77155000000||$}}

! style="text-align:right;" |

|}

Hurricane Irma's path was such that its impact was both far-reaching and devastating, with landfalls in Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Martin, the Bahamas, Cuba, and the United States, all at major hurricane intensity. Furthermore, the size of the storm system meant that destruction was prevalent even in territories well removed from landfall occurrences. Irma is the second-costliest Caribbean hurricane on record, after Maria.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-41231323|title=Hurricane Irma: Florida assesses damage as storm weakens|date=September 11, 2017|access-date=November 6, 2017|publisher=BBC|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171012200040/http://www.bbc.com/news/business-41231323|archive-date=October 12, 2017|url-status=live}}

File:Hurricane Irma Barbuda 20171006 Bennylin 01.jpg

The eyewall of the hurricane moved over Barbuda at its record peak intensity early on September 6; a weather station observed a wind gust of {{convert|160|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}. The same station also recorded a minimum barometric pressure of {{convert|916.1|mbar|inHg|abbr=on}}. The exact state of the island remained unclear for hours after Irma's passage, as downed phone lines ceased all communication with nearby islands. Later that afternoon, Prime Minister Gaston Browne surveyed the territory by helicopter, revealing an effectively uninhabitable island. Irma damaged or destroyed 95% of the structures on Barbuda, including its hospital, schools, and both of its hotels;{{Cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-hurricane-irma-barbuda-20170907-story.html|title=Once there was an island known as Barbuda. After Hurricane Irma, much of it is gone|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=September 7, 2017|access-date=September 7, 2017|author=Ann M. Simmons|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908004745/http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-hurricane-irma-barbuda-20170907-story.html|archive-date=September 8, 2017|url-status=live}} it completely flattened some residential blocks while submerging others.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/06/world/americas/hurricane-irma-update.html|title=Hurricane Irma: 'We Will Have Victims to Lament'|author1=Kirk Semple|date=September 6, 2017|work=The New York Times|access-date=September 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170906122339/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/06/world/americas/hurricane-irma-update.html|archive-date=September 6, 2017|url-status=live|author2=Carl Joseph|at=Barbuda is devastated, but Antigua is spared|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}{{cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/hurricane-irma-destroys-90-percent-structures-vehicles-barbuda/story?id=49665358|title=Hurricane Irma destroys 90 percent of structures, vehicles on Barbuda|work=ABC News|date=September 6, 2017|access-date=September 6, 2017|author=Blair Shiff|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170907000228/https://abcnews.go.com/International/hurricane-irma-destroys-90-percent-structures-vehicles-barbuda/story?id=49665358|archive-date=September 7, 2017|url-status=live}} The destruction rendered the island's sole airport and much of its infrastructure inoperative—including water and telecommunication services—which further hampered relief efforts. Property damage on Barbuda ranged from $150 million to $300 million. A total of three storm-related deaths were reported on the island.

In addition to the catastrophic impact on Barbuda's human residents, concern turned to the storm's effects on the island's wildlife. The island's only endemic bird, the near-threatened Barbuda warbler, numbered less than 2,000 individuals prior to the hurricane. For some time it was unknown if the warbler survived the hurricane or its aftermath; however within a few months it was confirmed that not only did the species survive, but most of the birds survived the storm.{{Cite news|url=http://www.birdscaribbean.org/2017/09/good-news-conservationists-excited-to-find-surviving-barbuda-warblers-on-devastated-island/|title=Good News! Conservationists Excited to Find Surviving Barbuda Warblers on Devastated Island|date=September 27, 2017|work=BirdsCaribbean|access-date=September 29, 2017|language=en-US}} Barbuda's Codrington Lagoon, home to the largest colony of magnificent frigatebirds in the Caribbean, with an estimated 2,500 nesting pairs, was also inundated by the storm surge.{{cite news |first1=Emma |last1=Lewis |first2=Ann |last2=Sutton |title=After the Storm |url=http://www.birdscaribbean.org/2017/09/after-the-storm/ |work=BirdsCaribbean |publisher=2017-09-11 |access-date=September 18, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170916053412/http://www.birdscaribbean.org/2017/09/after-the-storm/ |archive-date=September 16, 2017 |url-status=live }}

Remaining just outside of Irma's strongest windfield, Antigua sustained less severe damage, in the form of leveled roofs and fences, downed power poles and lines, and uprooted trees. Some street flooding also took place in low-lying areas.{{cite news|url=https://antiguaobserver.com/hurricane-irma-in-pictures-antigua/|title=Hurricane Irma – In Pictures [Antigua]|newspaper=Antigua Observer|date=September 7, 2017|access-date=September 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170907181539/https://antiguaobserver.com/hurricane-irma-in-pictures-antigua/|archive-date=September 7, 2017|url-status=live}} Three people were treated for minor storm-related injuries.{{cite news|url=http://dominicanewsonline.com/news/homepage/news/general/antigua-spared-the-worst-during-passage-of-hurricane-irma/|title=Antigua spared the worst during passage of Hurricane Irma|access-date=September 6, 2017|date=September 6, 2017|newspaper=Dominica News Online|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170906224758/http://dominicanewsonline.com/news/homepage/news/general/antigua-spared-the-worst-during-passage-of-hurricane-irma/|archive-date=September 6, 2017|url-status=live}} Forensic disaster analysts from the Center for Disaster Management and Risk Reduction Technology (CEDIM), a Germany-based risk management agency, estimate that economic losses for Antigua and Barbuda will exceed $120 million.

File:Schade op Sint Maarten na orkaan Irma.webm

On the morning of September 6, Irma's center crossed the island of Saint Martin while the storm was at peak intensity, sweeping away entire structures, submerging roads and cars, and triggering an island-wide blackout.{{cite news|url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/trail-devastation-hurricane-irma-destroys-11122206|title=Trail of devastation as Hurricane Irma destroys whole Caribbean island of Saint Martin|access-date=September 6, 2017|date=September 6, 2017|work=Mirror|author=Abigail O'Leary|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170906163102/http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/trail-devastation-hurricane-irma-destroys-11122206|archive-date=September 6, 2017|url-status=live}} Irma's extreme winds ripped trees out of the ground and sent vehicles and debris from damaged structures scattered across the territory. On the French side of Saint-Martin, entire marinas around Marigot were left in ruins, littered with the stranded remnants of boats that had smashed into each other.{{Cite news|url=http://www.express.co.uk/news/weather/850979/Hurricane-Irma-path-track-model-damage-update-St-Martin-video|title=Hurricane Irma damage update: Shocking extent of St Martin damage|author=Joe Barnes|newspaper=Daily Express|date=September 7, 2017|access-date=September 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170907213318/http://www.express.co.uk/news/weather/850979/Hurricane-Irma-path-track-model-damage-update-St-Martin-video|archive-date=September 7, 2017|url-status=live}} A hotel caught on fire, but dangerous conditions and impassable roads prevented firefighters from putting out the blaze. Another hotel lost nearly all of its ground floor.{{cite news|title='C'est un cauchemar' raconte notre journaliste à Saint-Martin|url=http://la1ere.francetvinfo.fr/suivez-progression-du-cyclone-irma-507987.html|newspaper=France Télévisions|date=September 6, 2017|access-date=September 6, 2017|language=FR|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170907033959/http://la1ere.francetvinfo.fr/suivez-progression-du-cyclone-irma-507987.html|archive-date=September 7, 2017|url-status=dead}} Media images depicted devastated room interiors with furniture hurled around after the winds had shattered their windows. Irma killed four people on the French side of the island and injured 50 others, one of whom was in critical condition. As many as 95% of the buildings there were damaged to some degree; 60% of those were totally uninhabitable.{{cite news|url=http://www.la-croix.com/Monde/Irma-seme-apocalypse-Saint-Barth-Saint-Martin-moins-4-morts-2017-09-07-1300874737|title=Irma sème 'l'apocalypse' à Saint-Barth et Saint-Martin, au moins 4 morts|access-date=September 7, 2017|date=September 7, 2017|newspaper=La Croix|agency=Agence France-Presse|language=FR|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170907221600/http://www.la-croix.com/Monde/Irma-seme-apocalypse-Saint-Barth-Saint-Martin-moins-4-morts-2017-09-07-1300874737|archive-date=September 7, 2017|url-status=live}} Estimates from CEDIM indicate a minimum of $950 million worth of economic losses. Total losses exceeded €3.5 billion (US$4.17 billion).

A similar situation unfolded in Sint Maarten, Saint Martin's Dutch half, as intense winds ripped through buildings and lifted vehicles aloft "as if they were matches".{{cite news|url=http://www.nu.nl/buitenland/4912424/dode-en-plunderingen-nederlands-deel-sint-maarten-orkaan-irma.html?redirect=1|title=Dode en plunderingen op Nederlandse deel Sint Maarten na orkaan Irma|date=September 8, 2017|access-date=September 8, 2017|publisher=Nu|language=NL|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909202215/http://www.nu.nl/buitenland/4912424/dode-en-plunderingen-nederlands-deel-sint-maarten-orkaan-irma.html?redirect=1|archive-date=September 9, 2017|url-status=live}} The hurricane wreaked havoc on Princess Juliana International Airport, with "huge chunks of the building [strewn] across the runway and a jet bridge snapped in half."{{cite news|url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/trail-devastation-hurricane-irma-destroys-11122206|title=World famous Princess Juliana St Maarten Airport where planes fly just above tourists' heads devastated by Hurricane Irma|access-date=September 6, 2017|date=September 6, 2017|work=Mirror|author=Rachel Bishop|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170906163102/http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/trail-devastation-hurricane-irma-destroys-11122206|archive-date=September 6, 2017|url-status=live}} It demolished or severely damaged about 70% of Sint Maarten's houses, forcing thousands of residents into public shelters.{{cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/latest-irma-rakes-cuba-category-hurricane-49720074|title=The Latest: States sending 7K National Guardsmen to Florida|work=ABC News|agency=Associated Press|access-date=September 9, 2017|date=September 9, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909083235/https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/latest-irma-rakes-cuba-category-hurricane-49720074|archive-date=September 9, 2017|url-status=live}} There were 4 deaths and 23 injuries, 11 of which were serious, in the Dutch territory.{{cite news|url=https://www.parool.nl/buitenland/dit-is-wat-we-nu-weten-over-de-gevolgen-van-orkaan-irma~a4515372/|title=Dit is wat we nu weten over de gevolgen van orkaan Irma|newspaper=Het Parool|access-date=September 8, 2017|date=September 8, 2017|language=nl|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908013136/https://www.parool.nl/buitenland/dit-is-wat-we-nu-weten-over-de-gevolgen-van-orkaan-irma~a4515372/|archive-date=September 8, 2017|url-status=live}} Irma is considered the worst natural disaster to hit Sint Maarten; the extent of its damage far exceeded that of any previous hurricane. Total damages were estimated at €2.5 billion (US$2.98 billion).

{{Most intense landfalling Atlantic hurricanes |align=right}}

Irma left widespread destruction and disastrous flooding along its path over the French island of Saint Barthélemy, southeast of Saint Martin. Describing the extent of the destruction, one local compared it to "a bomb that burned all vegetation," while another said that it were as if the hurricane had effectively "erased the island from the map".{{cite news|url=http://www.lemonde.fr/planete/article/2017/09/07/ouragan-irma-des-chambres-ont-litteralement-implose-les-murs-vibraient-comme-du-carton_5182354_3244.html|title=Ouragan Irma : 'A Saint-Barthélemy, on a été rayés de la carte'|date=September 7, 2017|access-date=September 7, 2017|newspaper=Le Monde|language=fr|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170907162623/http://www.lemonde.fr/planete/article/2017/09/07/ouragan-irma-des-chambres-ont-litteralement-implose-les-murs-vibraient-comme-du-carton_5182354_3244.html|archive-date=September 7, 2017|url-status=live}} Violent seas swept away entire coastal establishments, with one hotel being stripped of all but its foundation.{{cite news|url=http://www.leparisien.fr/environnement/nature/irma-a-saint-barthelemy-l-ile-est-vraiment-aneantie-temoigne-une-habitante-07-09-2017-7242084.php|title=Irma : à Saint-Barthélémy, "l'île est vraiment anéantie", témoigne une habitante|access-date=September 7, 2017|date=September 7, 2017|newspaper=Le Parisien|archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20171010115757/http://www.leparisien.fr/environnement/nature/irma-a-saint-barthelemy-l-ile-est-vraiment-aneantie-temoigne-une-habitante-07-09-2017-7242084.php|archive-date=October 10, 2017|url-status=live}} Streets in the capital of Gustavia were turned into rushing rivers, which carried away vehicles and pieces of furniture. The island's fire station was inundated with up to {{convert|6.4|ft|abbr=on}} of flood waters.{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2017/09/06/americas/hurricane-irma-caribbean-islands/index.html|title=Deaths reported as Hurricane Irma batters northern Caribbean islands|publisher=CNN|date=September 6, 2017|access-date=September 6, 2017|author1=Laura Smith-Spark|author2=Marilia Brocchetto|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170906220608/http://edition.cnn.com/2017/09/06/americas/hurricane-irma-caribbean-islands/index.html|archive-date=September 6, 2017|url-status=live}} With scores of homes and much of the infrastructure destroyed, the majority of the island's population was left stranded and without water, electricity or phone service. The associated economic losses could exceed $480 million according to CEDIM's analysts.

Preliminary assessments from the French government indicate that Hurricane Irma caused a combined €1.2 billion (US$1.43 billion) in insured losses across the French territories of Saint-Martin and Saint Barts. This total covered private property such as homes, vehicles and businesses (including lost revenue); the extent of the damage to infrastructural and public facilities remains undetermined. Nonetheless, this made Irma one of the costliest natural disasters to hit the French Republic in 50 years.{{cite press release|title=Ouragan Irma : CCR évalue à environ 1,2 milliard d'euros le coût des dommages assurés pour les îles de Saint-Martin et Saint-Barthélemy|language=FR|date=September 9, 2017|access-date=September 9, 2017|publisher=Caisse Centrale de Réassurance|url=https://www.ccr.fr/web/ccr/-/communique-de-presse-irma|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909171641/https://www.ccr.fr/web/ccr/-/communique-de-presse-irma|archive-date=September 9, 2017|url-status=live}}

On January 30, 2018, roughly five months after Irma, an analysis was published indicating that an anemometer on the island recorded an unofficial gust to {{convert|199|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} before failing.{{cite news|url=https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/199-mph-wind-gust-irma-personal-weather-station-record|title=A 199 mph Wind Gust in Irma: a Personal Weather Station Record|author=Jeff Masters|work=Weather Underground|date=January 30, 2018|access-date=January 30, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180131025239/https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/199-mph-wind-gust-irma-personal-weather-station-record|archive-date=January 31, 2018|url-status=live}}

The British Overseas Territory of Anguilla saw the eyewall of the storm pass over it on September 6. Many homes and schools were destroyed, and the island's only hospital was badly damaged. The devastation was particularly severe in East End, where the winds uprooted scores of trees and power poles and demolished a number of houses. In The Valley, the island's capital, the hurricane blew out the windows of government buildings. Rough seas inflicted heavy damage upon several bays and harbors, and a seaside restaurant was completely eradicated.{{cite report|url=http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Humanity%20Road%20Hurricane%20Irma%20Sitrep%20No%202%2C%20Sep%207%2C%202017.pdf|title=Hurricane Irma: Situation Report 2|id=TC-2017-000125-DOM|publisher=Humanity Road|date=September 7, 2017|access-date=September 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908112006/http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Humanity%20Road%20Hurricane%20Irma%20Sitrep%20No%202%2C%20Sep%207%2C%202017.pdf|archive-date=September 8, 2017|url-status=live}} About 90% of roads were left impassable. The island's air traffic control tower was damaged, exacerbating the already poor communication with the island.{{cite report|url=http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/UNICEF%20Eastern%20Caribbean%20Humanitarian%20SitRep%20%231%20-%206%20September%202017.pdf|title=Eastern Caribbean: Humanitarian Situation Report #1|date=September 6, 2017|access-date=September 8, 2017|publisher=UNICEF|work=ReliefWeb}} One death was reported on the island. Estimates of losses on the island total at least $190 million.

Large swells ahead of Irma washed ashore debris and sea life in Castries, Saint Lucia, blocking some roads. Seaside roads were inundated with water.{{cite news|url=https://stluciatimes.com/2017/09/05/sea-swells-dump-debris-castries-waterfront|title=Sea swells dump debris at Castries Waterfront|date=September 5, 2017|newspaper=St. Lucia Times|access-date=September 5, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170906184135/https://stluciatimes.com/2017/09/05/sea-swells-dump-debris-castries-waterfront|archive-date=September 6, 2017|url-status=dead}} One surfer was killed amid rough surf in Barbados after hitting a reef and breaking his neck. Trees were also destroyed.{{cite news|url=https://www.barbadostoday.bb/2017/09/05/young-surfers-death-comes-as-a-shock/|title=Young surfer's death comes as a shock|date=September 5, 2017|newspaper=Barbados Today|access-date=September 5, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170906002420/https://www.barbadostoday.bb/2017/09/05/young-surfers-death-comes-as-a-shock/|archive-date=September 6, 2017|url-status=live}} The hurricane's effects, such as violent seas and rattling trees, were intense enough to be detected by seismographs in Guadeloupe. Several houses were damaged.{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/irma-hurricane-strength-category-earthquake-measurement-seismometer-a7931286.html|title=Hurricane Irma has become so strong it's showing up on seismometers used to measure earthquakes|author=Alexandra Wilts|date=September 6, 2017|newspaper=Independent|access-date=September 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170906024151/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/irma-hurricane-strength-category-earthquake-measurement-seismometer-a7931286.html|archive-date=September 6, 2017|url-status=live}} Around 8,000 households and a water supply network on that island lost power during the storm, leaving several communes in the dark without running water. Overall damage was limited to external parts of houses and trees that were blown onto roads and three unmanned ships wrecked by rough seas.

Saint Kitts and Nevis endured similar conditions to other islands. Blustery rainstorms triggered scattered power outages and disabled the island's water system, but per the International Red Cross, the islands were spared the level of destruction seen elsewhere.{{cite report|url=http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/IB06092017.pdf|title=Americas: Hurricane Irma|type=Information Bulletin|publisher=International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies|pages=2–3|date=September 6, 2017|access-date=September 7, 2017|number=2|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170907214411/http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/IB06092017.pdf|archive-date=September 7, 2017|url-status=live}} Still, Prime Minister Timothy Harris stated that property and infrastructure had sustained "significant damage." The Dutch territories of Saba and Sint Eustatius were also struck by the hurricane's winds, resulting in infrastructural damage, water shortages and telecommunication outages. Several houses were left uninhabitable. On Saba, the hurricane also defoliated trees and injured a few people.{{cite news|url=http://www.saba-news.com/saba-government-on-facebook-no-deaths-have-been-reported-on-saba/|title=Saba Government on Facebook: no deaths have been reported on Saba|date=September 6, 2017|access-date=September 9, 2017|work=Saba-News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170910042515/http://www.saba-news.com/saba-government-on-facebook-no-deaths-have-been-reported-on-saba/|archive-date=September 10, 2017|url-status=live}} CEDIM's analysts expect economic losses of $20–65 million for the two islands.

{{Main|Effects of Hurricane Irma in the British Virgin Islands}}

File:Hurricane Irma turns Virgin Islands brown.jpg imagery by Landsat 8 of the Virgin Islands from before and after Hurricane Irma's impact, depicting a "browning" of the landscape and vegetation.{{cite web|url=https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=90952|title=Hurricane Irma Turns Caribbean Islands Brown|author=Kathryn Hansen|date=September 11, 2017|publisher=NASA Earth Observatory|access-date=September 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912004803/https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=90952|archive-date=September 12, 2017|url-status=live}}]]

Damage in the British Virgin Islands was extensive. Numerous buildings and roads were destroyed on the island of Tortola, which bore the brunt of the hurricane's core. Four people were confirmed dead. Along Cane Garden Bay, the storm surge submerged several seaside bars and a gas station. Satellite images revealed many of the island's residential zones had been left in ruins. The hurricane passed over Necker Island, also causing severe damage and destroying the mansion of Richard Branson.{{cite news|url=http://www.marketwatch.com/story/richard-bransons-virgin-islands-home-destroyed-by-hurricane-irma-2017-09-07|title=President Trump's and Richard Branson's Caribbean homes destroyed by Hurricane Irma|author=Ciara Linnane|newspaper=MarketWatch|access-date=September 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170907120007/http://www.marketwatch.com/story/richard-bransons-virgin-islands-home-destroyed-by-hurricane-irma-2017-09-07|archive-date=September 7, 2017|url-status=live}}

Most homes and businesses were destroyed on the island of Jost Van Dyke, the smallest of the B.V.I.'s four main islands.{{cite news |first=Luis |last=Ferre-Sadurn |title=CBritish Virgin Islands: 'Knocked Down, but Not Knocked Out' by Irma |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/16/world/americas/british-virgin-islands-irma.html?_r=0 |newspaper=New York Times |date=September 16, 2017 |access-date=September 19, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170920100631/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/16/world/americas/british-virgin-islands-irma.html?_r=0 |archive-date=September 20, 2017 |url-status=live }} The Governor, Gus Jaspert, who had only been sworn into office 13 days previously, declared a state of emergency - the first time this has ever happened in the Territory.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-41196775|title=Hurricane Irma: UK territory declares state of emergency|work=BBC News|date=September 8, 2017|access-date=October 4, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620005407/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-41196775|archive-date=June 20, 2018|url-status=live}} After the storm, restoration of electricity took approximately 5 months.{{cite web|url=http://bvinews.com/new/98-of-electricity-now-restored-in-bvi/|title=98% of electricity now restored in BVI|newspaper=BVI News|date=February 21, 2018|access-date=April 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180413043543/http://bvinews.com/new/98-of-electricity-now-restored-in-bvi/|archive-date=April 13, 2018|url-status=live}}

File:U.S. Navy conducts damage assessments in the U.S. Virgin Islands.webm

Irma's effects in the U.S. Virgin Islands were most profound on Saint Thomas, where at least {{convert|12|in|mm}} of rain fell, and on Saint John. Saint Thomas island suffered widespread structural damage, including to its police station and airport. Patients from the fourth and third floors of Charlotte Amalie's hospital had to be relocated to lower floors due to flooding from roof leaks. Three deaths were attributed to Irma on the island. On nearby Saint Croix, there were communication issues and some damage to the infrastructure. Saint John lost access to ferry and cargo services, along with access to the local airport. Due to its normal reliance on electricity from Saint Thomas, the island was left without power.{{cite web |url=https://www.facebook.com/NewsofStJohn/posts/763727687145153 |title=News of St. John |publisher=Facebook |access-date=September 8, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909041356/https://www.facebook.com/NewsofStJohn/posts/763727687145153 |archive-date=September 9, 2017 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://fox17.com/news/local/former-nashville-says-st-john-residents-desperate-after-irma-pleads-for-help |title=Former Nashville family says St. John residents desperate after Irma, pleads for help |date=September 8, 2017 |publisher=Fox17 |access-date=September 8, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908212715/http://fox17.com/news/local/former-nashville-says-st-john-residents-desperate-after-irma-pleads-for-help |archive-date=September 8, 2017 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/09/08/john-resident-says-there-were-houses-flying-away-when-hurricane-irma-hit/iOCRjkFW2xiKgBfs4vM6YO/story.html |title=St. John resident says there were 'houses flying away' when Irma hit |work=Boston Globe |date=September 8, 2017 |access-date=September 8, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908213032/https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/09/08/john-resident-says-there-were-houses-flying-away-when-hurricane-irma-hit/iOCRjkFW2xiKgBfs4vM6YO/story.html |archive-date=September 8, 2017 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://viconsortium.com/virgin-islands-2/red-cross-establishes-helpline-for-family-reunification/ |title=Red Cross Establishes Helpline For Family Reunification; Ferry Service Between St. Thomas And St. John To Resume Soon |publisher=The Virgin Islands Consortium |access-date=September 8, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908212230/http://viconsortium.com/virgin-islands-2/red-cross-establishes-helpline-for-family-reunification/ |archive-date=September 8, 2017 |url-status=dead }} Total damage from the three islands was at least $1.1 billion.

The hurricane passed north of Puerto Rico, but still caused significant damage to the United States territory. Along the coast, a tide gauge observed waves up to {{convert|1.5|ft|m|abbr=on}} mean higher high water. Much of the main island experienced sustained tropical storm force winds, with a peak sustained wind speed of {{convert|55|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} at a weather station along San Juan Bay, while the same site observed a peak wind gust of {{convert|74|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}. However, on the island of Culebra, a wind gust of {{convert|111|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} was reported.{{cite news|title=Hurricane Irma Spreading Damaging Winds into Georgia; Surge and Rainfall Flooding from Florida to South Carolina|url=https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/2017-09-11-hurricane-tropical-storm-irma-florida-georgia-carolinas-southeast|access-date=September 11, 2017|publisher=The Weather Channel|date=September 11, 2017|archive-url=https://archive.today/20170911113515/https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/2017-09-11-hurricane-tropical-storm-irma-florida-georgia-carolinas-southeast|archive-date=September 11, 2017|url-status=dead}} Mainly due to strong winds, approximately 1.1 million out of 1.5 million of Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority's customers lost electricity. Portions of Puerto Rico received heavy rainfall, with a peak total of {{convert|13.04|in|mm|abbr=on}} in Bayamón, causing seven rivers to reach flood stage, widespread flash flooding, and at least six landslides.{{cite news|url=https://caribbeanbusiness.com/wrap-up-of-damages-in-p-r-caused-by-hurricane-irma/|title=Wrap-up of damages in P.R. caused by Hurricane Irma|author=Cindy Burgos Alvarado|date=September 17, 2017|newspaper=Casiano Communications|access-date=April 21, 2019|archive-date=January 31, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210131141135/https://caribbeanbusiness.com/wrap-up-of-damages-in-p-r-caused-by-hurricane-irma/|url-status=dead}}

The most severely affected areas included the offshore islands of Culebra and Vieques, as well as the northeastern, northern, and mountainous portions of the main island. On Culebra, the island suffered an almost complete loss of electrical and water services. At least 30 homes on the island were destroyed, while about 30 other experienced substantial damage. High winds also toppled a number of trees. The only telecommunications tower on Culebra sustained damage, cutting off outside communications for several hours. In rural Loíza, 79 homes were destroyed.{{cite news|author=Luis Ferré-Sadurní|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/10/us/irma-puerto-rico-infrastructure.html|title=Irma Grazes Puerto Rico but Lays Bare an Infrastructure Problem|newspaper=The New York Times|date=September 10, 2017|access-date=September 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170910054634/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/10/us/irma-puerto-rico-infrastructure.html|archive-date=September 10, 2017|url-status=live}} Throughout Puerto Rico, 781 out of 1,600 telecommunications towers went out of commission, primarily due to power outages. At least 362,000 customers lost water services. Debris, mostly fallen trees, blocked at least 72 roads. Approximately 25% to 30% of banana, coffee, papaya, and plantain crops were damaged by strong winds, with losses to farmers estimated at $30.6 million. Approximately 1,530 homes experienced at least moderate damage, with 1,448 homes moderately damaged, 32 extensively damaged, and 50 completely destroyed.{{cite report|url=http://spp-pr.org/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2018/07/HUD-Housing-Damage-Assessment-Recovery-Strategies-6-29-18.pdf|page=19|title=Housing Damage Assessment and Recovery Strategies Report Puerto Rico|date=June 29, 2018|publisher=United States Department of Housing and Urban Development|access-date=April 21, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190421230243/http://spp-pr.org/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2018/07/HUD-Housing-Damage-Assessment-Recovery-Strategies-6-29-18.pdf|archive-date=April 21, 2019|url-status=live}}

Hurricane Irma was attributed to around $1 billion in damage, and the NHC attributed three fatalities to Irma in Puerto Rico, though four deaths were related to the storm.{{cite report|url=https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/listevents.jsp?eventType=ALL&beginDate_mm=09&beginDate_dd=01&beginDate_yyyy=2017&endDate_mm=09&endDate_dd=18&endDate_yyyy=2017&county=ALL&hailfilter=0.00&tornfilter=0&windfilter=000&sort=DT&submitbutton=Search&statefips=99%2CPUERTO+RICO|title=Storm Events Database|date=2017|publisher=National Climatic Data Center|access-date=April 21, 2019}} Two people died due to rainstorms ahead of the hurricane: one man died in Orocovis after falling off his ladder while repairing his roof; another man on the coast in Capitanejo died after being struck by lightning. Three nearby fishermen were burned by the same lightning strike, but survived. Two other people died during the hurricane: a woman died while being evacuated from her house in a wheelchair and fell, hitting her head; another person died in a car accident in Canóvanas.{{cite news|author=Leysa Caro González|title=Reportan cuatro muertes que podrían asociarse a Irma|url=http://www.primerahora.com/noticias/puerto-rico/nota/reportancuatromuertesquepodrianasociarseairma-1244479/|newspaper=Primera Hora|access-date=September 7, 2017|language=ES|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908015752/http://www.primerahora.com/noticias/puerto-rico/nota/reportancuatromuertesquepodrianasociarseairma-1244479/|archive-date=September 8, 2017|url-status=live}} Governor Ricardo Rosselló declared the islands of Culebra and Vieques to be disaster areas.

File:People stand in a flooded street that usually serves as a farmers market, in Ouanaminthe, northeast Haiti, Sept. 8, 2017. (Photo - Josiah Cherenfant, courtesy VOA Creole Service).jpg, Nord-Est, Haiti.]]

Although spared a direct hit, both the Dominican Republic and Haiti were affected by high winds and heavy rains. A bridge over the Dajabón River connecting the two countries was broken.{{cite web |url=https://www.oxfam.org/en/pressroom/pressreleases/2017-09-08/hurricane-irma-haiti-and-dominican-republic-facing-day-after |title=Hurricane Irma: Haiti and Dominican Republic facing "the day after" cleaning up and rebuilding |date=September 8, 2017 |publisher=Oxfam |access-date=September 8, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908125753/https://www.oxfam.org/en/pressroom/pressreleases/2017-09-08/hurricane-irma-haiti-and-dominican-republic-facing-day-after |archive-date=September 8, 2017 |url-status=dead }}

In the Dominican Republic, the fishing community of Nagua sustained damage from waves that destroyed homes. 55,000 soldiers were deployed to affected areas to help with the cleanup efforts. By the evening of September 7, the government had counted 2,721 damaged homes.{{cite web |url=http://www.nola.com/hurricane/index.ssf/2017/09/hurricane_irma_caribbean_damag.html |title=Hurricane Irma wreaks apocalyptic damage in the Caribbean |date=September 7, 2017 |work=The New Orleans Times-Picayune |access-date=September 8, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908035738/http://www.nola.com/hurricane/index.ssf/2017/09/hurricane_irma_caribbean_damag.html |archive-date=September 8, 2017 |url-status=live }}

In Haiti, flooding one meter deep sat in residential neighborhoods in places like Cap-Haïtien, Ouanaminthe, and Gonaives. Mudslides, destroyed homes, flooded crops, and infrastructure damage were reported in the northern part of the country. The total expanse of the flooding stretched from Môle-Saint-Nicolas in the west to the eastern border with the Dominican Republic.{{cite web |url=http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article172268857.html |title=Irma mostly spared Haiti. But for struggling farmers, the damages are devastating |date=September 9, 2017 |work=The Miami Herald |access-date=September 9, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909204637/http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article172268857.html |archive-date=September 9, 2017 |url-status=live }}

On the evening of September 7, at 7:30 p.m. AST (23:30 UTC), Hurricane Irma reached the Turks and Caicos Islands. While the eye passed just south of the main islands, crossing over South Caicos and the Ambergris Cays, the most powerful winds on the northern side of the eye swept all of the islands for more than two hours. Communications infrastructure was destroyed.

On September 8, Minister of Infrastructure Goldray Ewing confirmed that damage to Providenciales was extensive, with the northwestern neighborhood of Blue Hill being "gone".{{Cite news|url=http://www.thenassauguardian.com/news/76119|title=Extensive flooding, damage in Turks and Caicos|date=September 8, 2017|work=The Nassau Guardian|access-date=September 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909020942/http://www.thenassauguardian.com/news/76119|archive-date=September 9, 2017|url-status=dead|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}} The hospital in the capital, Cockburn Town, was heavily damaged. On South Caicos, 75% of roofs were lost.{{Cite news|url=http://www.thenassauguardian.com/news/76165-bahamians-in-tcirecallirma-nightmare|title=Bahamians in TCI recall Irma nightmare|date=September 12, 2017|work=The Nassau Guardian|access-date=September 13, 2017|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912214300/http://www.thenassauguardian.com/news/76165-bahamians-in-tcirecallirma-nightmare|archive-date=September 12, 2017|url-status=dead}} Total damage was estimated at over $500 million.

In the Bahamas, the eye of the storm passed over Duncan Town, the major settlement of the Ragged Islands chain, on September 8. It also passed "almost directly over" Inagua and South Acklins, according to the Bahamas Department of Meteorology.{{Cite news|url=http://www.thenassauguardian.com/news/76120|title=Bahamas escapes worst of Irma|date=September 8, 2017|work=The Nassau Guardian|access-date=September 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909022516/http://www.thenassauguardian.com/news/76120|archive-date=September 9, 2017|url-status=live|language=en-GB}}

Damages were largely confined to the southern islands starting the morning of September 8. On Mayaguana and Great Inagua, downed power lines knocked out communications.{{Cite news|url=http://www.tribune242.com/news/2017/sep/08/bpl-gives-update-southern-islands/|title=BPL Gives Update on Southern Islands|date=September 8, 2017|work=The Nassau Tribune|access-date=September 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908222031/http://www.tribune242.com/news/2017/sep/08/bpl-gives-update-southern-islands/|archive-date=September 8, 2017|url-status=live|language=en-GB}} On Great Inagua, 70% of homes sustained roof damage, and the island's school lost its roof entirely. The Morton Salt Company's signature production facility, one of the major employers in the country, experienced millions of dollars in damages.{{Cite news|url=http://www.tribune242.com/news/2017/sep/08/reports-hurricane-damage-morton-salt-compound/?news|title=Reports of Hurricane Damage To Morton Salt Compound|date=September 8, 2017|work=The Nassau Tribune|access-date=September 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171006054648/http://www.tribune242.com/news/2017/sep/08/reports-hurricane-damage-morton-salt-compound/?news|archive-date=October 6, 2017|url-status=live|language=en-GB}} The Acklins settlement of Salina Point was cut off from the rest of the island by flooding, while Crooked Island had widespread roof damage. In the northern Bahamas, the worst property damage came on September 10 as the outer bands of the system produced tornadic activity on Grand Bahama and Bimini.{{Cite news|url=http://www.tribune242.com/news/2017/sep/10/tornadic-activity-damages-homes-grand-bahama/|title=Tornadic Activity Damages Homes in Grand Bahama|date=September 10, 2017|work=The Nassau Tribune|access-date=September 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170910210744/http://www.tribune242.com/news/2017/sep/10/tornadic-activity-damages-homes-grand-bahama/|archive-date=September 10, 2017|url-status=live|language=en-GB}} Damage and losses across The Bahamas amounted to $135 million.{{cite news|author=Neil Hartnell|newspaper=Tribune 242|date=January 19, 2018|access-date=February 13, 2018|title=Bahamas Facing $500m Storm Bill Over Next Decade|url=http://www.tribune242.com/news/2018/jan/19/bahamas-facing-500m-storm-bill-over-next-decade/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180214073414/http://www.tribune242.com/news/2018/jan/19/bahamas-facing-500m-storm-bill-over-next-decade/|archive-date=February 14, 2018|url-status=live}}

While Irma was making landfall in Florida, the ocean was drawn away from some western shorelines of the Bahamas due to strong easterly winds.{{Cite magazine|url=https://time.com/4935096/long-island-bahamas-irma-hurricane/|title=Hurricane Irma Is So Powerful it Sucked Ocean Water Away in the Bahamas|last=Calfas|first=Jennifer|date=September 10, 2017|magazine=TIME|access-date=January 20, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170910154345/http://time.com/4935096/long-island-bahamas-irma-hurricane/|archive-date=September 10, 2017|url-status=live}}

{{Costliest Cuban hurricanes|align=left}}

File:The Patrol 301, Admiral Didiez Burgos of the Dominican Navy delivering disaster supplies in Havana Harbor after Hurricane Irma.jpg delivering disaster supplies in Havana Harbor after Hurricane Irma.{{cite news |author=Staff Writer |url=http://www.radiociudadhabana.icrt.cu/2017/09/19/dominican-navy-ship-arrives-in-cuba-with-aid-for-victims-of-hurricane-irma/ |title=Dominican Navy ship arrives in Cuba with aid for victims of Hurricane Irma |work=RadioCiudad |publisher=ACN/imop |date=September 19, 2017 |access-date=September 26, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170927000243/http://www.radiociudadhabana.icrt.cu/2017/09/19/dominican-navy-ship-arrives-in-cuba-with-aid-for-victims-of-hurricane-irma/ |archive-date=September 27, 2017 |url-status=live }}]]

Early on September 9, Irma made landfall on the Camagüey Archipelago off the northern coast of Cuba, with sustained winds of {{convert|165|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}. The strongest official sustained wind speed was {{convert|124|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}, while the highest wind gust reached {{convert|159|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}; both were observed near Camila in Ciego de Ávila Province. The weather station at Esmeralda, Camagüey, was damaged, with the wind gauge destroyed. The north coast of Cuba experienced significant coastal flooding due to storm surge and abnormally high tides generated by the storm. Wave heights at Cayo Romano exceeded {{convert|26|ft|m|abbr=on}}. Storm surge penetrated as far as {{convert|1.2|mi|km|abbr=on}} inland in some areas of Villa Clara Province. Multiple locations on the island observed at least {{convert|10|in|mm|abbr=on}} of rainfall, with a peak total of {{convert|23.9|in|mm|abbr=on}} of precipitation at Topes de Collantes.

A total of 158,554 homes experienced some degree of damage, of which 14,657 were destroyed; approximately 1.9 million people experienced the direct effects of Irma.{{cite web|type=Report|agency=United Nations|publisher=ReliefWeb|date=December 15, 2017|access-date=January 26, 2019|title=Cuba: Hurricane Irma - Three Month Report|url=https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Three_month_report_Irma.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190320180708/https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Three_month_report_Irma.pdf|archive-date=March 20, 2019|url-status=live}} The storm partially deroofed 103,691 homes, while 23,560 were completely deroofed. Irma damaged or destroyed 980 health facilities and 2,264 schools. Approximately 3.1 million people experienced disruptions to the water supply, while 246,707 people lost telephone service. About {{convert|334|mi|km|abbr=on}} of roads were damaged. Crops also suffered extensively, with nearly {{convert|235000|acres|abbr=on}} affected by the storm. Throughout the country, the hurricane inflicted $13.185 billion in damage and killed 10 people, making Irma the costliest tropical cyclone in Cuban history.{{cite news|title=Raúl Castro cifra los daños del huracán Irma a Cuba en 13.185 millones de dólares|url=https://www.efe.com/efe/espana/sociedad/raul-castro-cifra-los-danos-del-huracan-irma-a-cuba-en-13-185-millones-de-dolares/10004-3474450|publisher=Agencia EFE|language=es|date=December 22, 2017|access-date=May 20, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190601025519/https://www.efe.com/efe/espana/sociedad/raul-castro-cifra-los-danos-del-huracan-irma-a-cuba-en-13-185-millones-de-dolares/10004-3474450|archive-date=June 1, 2019|url-status=live}}

The tourist areas of Cayo Coco, Cayo Guillermo and Cayo Santa María and the nearby town of Caibarién received the brunt of the storm, with waves rolling through town and the characteristic one-story homes completely flooded. The storm most severely Ciego de Ávila and Villa Clara provinces. Flooding worsened as the hurricane moved west, pushing the storm surge along to the regions around Havana. By the afternoon, limited flooding was occurring in Havana, including around the Malecón.{{cite news|title=Hurricane Irma Live Updates: 'The Storm Is Here,' Florida Governor Says|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/09/us/hurricane-irma-florida.html|work=The New York Times|date=September 9, 2017 |access-date=September 9, 2017|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909102639/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/09/us/hurricane-irma-florida.html|archive-date=September 9, 2017|url-status=live}} Portions of province coastal flooding surpassing that which was experienced during the Storm of the Century in 1993 and Hurricane Wilma in 2005. In the city of Santa Clara, 39 buildings collapsed.{{cite news|author=Anthony Faiola|title='People are roaming like zombies.' Virgin Islands stagger after storm passes.|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/people-are-roaming-like-zombies-virgin-islands-stagger-after-storm-passes/2017/09/10/d428f16e-965a-11e7-b569-3360011663b4_story.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=September 10, 2017|access-date=September 10, 2017|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170910211706/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/people-are-roaming-like-zombies-virgin-islands-stagger-after-storm-passes/2017/09/10/d428f16e-965a-11e7-b569-3360011663b4_story.html|archive-date=September 10, 2017|url-status=live}} Rainfall resulted in several rivers reaching major flood stage. The town of Cabaiguán in Sancti Spíritus Province in particular suffered extensive inland flooding after the Zaza River swelled.

Hurricane Irma directly affected a major colony of American flamingos on Cuba's northern Cayo Coco. Early reports from Diario de Cuba indicated that several hundred flamingos had been killed by the storm, though other estimates ranged as high as several thousand birds.{{cite news |first=Kate |last=Linthicum |title=Cuba took a direct hit from Hurricane Irma — and may have spared Florida from worse damage |url=http://www.latimes.com/world/mexico-americas/la-fg-irma-cuba-20170911-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=September 18, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170918171821/http://www.latimes.com/world/mexico-americas/la-fg-irma-cuba-20170911-story.html |archive-date=September 18, 2017 |url-status=live }}

{{Costliest U.S. Atlantic hurricanes|align=right}}

File:Sedimentation around South Florida and Bahamas after Hurricane Irma.jpg

{{See also|List of United States tornadoes from August to October 2017#September 9 event}}

Hurricane Irma affected multiple states in the South, especially Florida. Except for the Florida Keys, the total damage Irma caused was not as great as government officials and forecasters had warned. Irma weakened after making landfall in Cuba, but strengthened back into a Category 4 prior to hitting the Keys. The Florida Keys suffered the worst of the damage in the United States. After surveying the aftermath of Irma, Florida governor Rick Scott said "I thought we would see more damage" [on the mainland] but said "he witnessed devastation in the Keys".{{cite news |author1=Andres Viglucci |author2=Carli Teproff |author3=Daniel Chang |title=Irma could have been a lot worse for South Florida, but it's still not a pretty picture |newspaper=Miami Herald |date=September 11, 2017 |url=http://www.miamiherald.com/news/weather/hurricane/article172766396.html |access-date=September 12, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912072220/http://www.miamiherald.com/news/weather/hurricane/article172766396.html |archive-date=September 12, 2017 |url-status=live }} President Donald Trump commented on Twitter that the devastation in some places was "far greater than anyone thought".{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/890193981585444864|title=The devastation left by Hurricane Irma was far greater, at least in certain locations, than anyone thought – but amazing people working hard!|author=Donald J. Trump|date=September 12, 2017|via=Twitter|access-date=September 14, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170727013251/https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/890193981585444864|archive-date=July 27, 2017|url-status=live}}

Damage in the United States was estimated at a minimum of $50 billion. At the time, Irma was the fourth costliest tropical cyclone in the United States, behind hurricanes Sandy in 2012, Harvey earlier that year, and Katrina in 2005. However, later in September 2017, Hurricane Maria became the third costliest United States tropical cyclone, causing Irma to fall to the fifth costliest. At least 92 people, 10 directly and 82 indirectly, died throughout the United States in relation to Irma: 84 in Florida, 3 in Georgia, 3 in South Carolina, and 2 in North Carolina.

{{Main|Effects of Hurricane Irma in Florida}}

File:1988- US Gulf Coast hurricane diameters.svg

File:FEMA - DSC7043 -Big Pine Key neighborhood devastated by Irma.jpg

Irma struck the state less than two weeks after Potential Tropical Cyclone Ten had caused the worst flooding seen in western Florida in 20 years, which further worsened the impacts in the region.{{cite web|url=https://www.news-press.com/story/news/2017/08/27/flooding-plagues-fort-myers-south-lee-county-areas-rv-resort-evacuated/606119001/|title=Flooding plagues Fort Myers, south Lee County areas, RV resort evacuated|author=Michael Braun|publisher=The News-Press|date=August 27, 2017|accessdate=March 23, 2021}}{{cite web|url=https://www.winknews.com/2017/08/27/flooding-starts-subsiding-residents-left-picking-up-the-pieces/|title=Flooding subsides, residents left to pick up the pieces|author=|publisher=WINK News|date=August 29, 2017|accessdate=March 23, 2021}}{{cite web|url=https://www.winknews.com/2018/08/29/residents-hit-hard-by-2017-flooding-growing-impatient-with-county/|title=Residents hit hard by 2017 flooding growing impatient with county|author=Laura Sweeney|publisher=WINK News|date=August 29, 2018|accessdate=March 23, 2021}}{{cite web|url=https://www.thebalance.com/hurricane-irma-facts-timeline-damage-costs-4150395|title=Hurricane Irma Facts, Damage, and Costs|author=Kimberly Amadeo|publisher=The Balance|date=February 1, 2021|accessdate=March 23, 2021|archive-date=February 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211035724/https://www.thebalance.com/hurricane-irma-facts-timeline-damage-costs-4150395|url-status=dead}} The storm's large wind field resulted in strong winds across much of Florida, except for the western Panhandle. The highest reported sustained wind speed was {{convert|112|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} on Marco Island, while the strongest observed wind gust was {{convert|142|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}, recorded near Naples,{{cite report|chapter-url=http://noaa.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapJournal/index.html?appid=c712badd484c4a9d8dbaa3692ba7d1fe|title=Tropical Winds Newsletter|chapter=Hurricane Irma Hits South Florida|date=Fall 2017|publisher=National Weather Service Miami, Florida|access-date=January 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180210180424/http://noaa.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapJournal/index.html?appid=c712badd484c4a9d8dbaa3692ba7d1fe|archive-date=February 10, 2018|url-status=live}} though wind gusts of {{convert|150|to|160|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} likely occurred in the Middle Florida Keys. More than 7.7 million homes and businesses in Florida were left without electricity at some point – approximately 73% of state.{{cite report|url=http://archive.floridadisaster.org/info/outage_reports/irma/ESF12Power%20Outage%20Report%2009-11%201640.pdf|title=Hurricane Irma – Power Outage Data|date=September 11, 2017|publisher=Florida Division of Emergency Management|access-date=January 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180210180858/http://archive.floridadisaster.org/info/outage_reports/irma/ESF12Power%20Outage%20Report%2009-11%201640.pdf|archive-date=February 10, 2018|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-storm-irma-power-outages/with-7-4-million-without-power-utility-workers-get-respect-idUSKCN1BM16K|title=With 7.4 million without power, utility workers get respect|author=Bernie Woodall|newspaper=Reuters|access-date=January 19, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171012225205/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-storm-irma-power-outages/with-7-4-million-without-power-utility-workers-get-respect-idUSKCN1BM16K|archive-date=October 12, 2017|url-status=live}} Generally heavy amounts of rainfall were recorded to the east of the Irma's path, including a peak total of {{convert|21.66|in|mm|abbr=on}} in Fort Pierce.{{Tropical Cyclone Point Maxima}} Heavy precipitation – and storm surge, in some instances – overflowed at least 32 rivers and creeks, causing significant flooding, particularly along the St. Johns River and its tributaries. Many homes and businesses suffered damage or destruction, with more than 65,000 structures damaged to some degree in West Central and Southwest Florida alone.{{cite journal|volume=59|number=9|journal=Storm Data|title=Storm Data and Unusual Weather Phenomena|date=September 2017|issn=0039-1972|publisher=National Climatic Data Center|access-date=March 5, 2018|url=https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/orders/IPS/IPS-E3799432-B4CA-43CD-9CC9-9C93CB577EC1.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180306082824/https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/orders/IPS/IPS-E3799432-B4CA-43CD-9CC9-9C93CB577EC1.pdf|archive-date=March 6, 2018|location=Asheville, North Carolina|url-status=dead}} Agriculture experienced about $2.5 billion in damage. It was estimated that the cyclone caused at least $50 billion in damage, making Irma the costliest hurricane in Florida history, surpassing Hurricane Andrew, until it was itself surpassed by Hurricane Ian, 5 years later.{{cite report|archive-date=January 27, 2018|url-status=live |date=January 12, 2018 |title=Costliest U.S. tropical cyclones tables update|access-date=January 12, 2018|publisher=United States National Hurricane Center|url=https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/news/UpdatedCostliest.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180127083930/https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/news/UpdatedCostliest.pdf}}

Throughout Florida, at least 84 people died in storm-related incidents. About half of the deaths occurred from drowning, trauma, and carbon monoxide poisoning.{{cite news|url=https://www.news4jax.com/weather/hurricane-irma/irma-death-toll-up-to-69-in-florida|title=Irma death toll up to 69 in Florida|date=October 6, 2017|agency=News Service of Florida|newspaper=WJXT|access-date=January 4, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125193647/https://www.news4jax.com/weather/hurricane-irma/irma-death-toll-up-to-69-in-florida|archive-date=January 25, 2018|url-status=live}} Broward County had 21 fatalities, the most of any county in Florida. Among those deaths were 12 people at The Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills, a Hollywood nursing home. The patients died from sweltering heat worsened by the lack of air conditioning. The hurricane also left at least 14 deaths in Monroe County;{{cite news|url=http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/florida-keys/article174520191.html|title=Hurricane Irma-related deaths rise to 14 in Florida Keys|date=September 21, 2017|author=Gwen Filosa|newspaper=Miami Herald|access-date=November 24, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171002122902/http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/florida-keys/article174520191.html|archive-date=October 2, 2017|url-status=live}} 6 deaths in Orange County; 5 deaths each in Duval, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach counties; 4 deaths in both Highlands and Hillsborough counties; 3 deaths in both Marion and Polk counties; 2 deaths each in Collier, Hardee, Leon, Pinellas, St. Lucie, and Taylor counties;{{cite news|url=http://www.naplesnews.com/story/weather/hurricanes/2017/09/17/hurricane-irma-everglades-city-death-causes-health-crisis-concern/675471001/|title=After a death in Everglades City, rising concerns of a public health crisis|author1=Brett Murphy |author1-link=Brett Murphy |author2=Joseph Canney|date=September 17, 2017|newspaper=Naples Daily News|access-date=December 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170921043936/http://www.naplesnews.com/story/weather/hurricanes/2017/09/17/hurricane-irma-everglades-city-death-causes-health-crisis-concern/675471001/|archive-date=September 21, 2017|url-status=live}}{{cite report|url=https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/eventdetails.jsp?id=719433|title=Event Details: Tropical Storm|date=2017|publisher=National Climatic Data Center|access-date=December 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180123190709/https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/eventdetails.jsp?id=719433|archive-date=January 23, 2018|url-status=live}} and 1 death in Hendry, Lake, Lee, Liberty, Manatee, Nassau, Okeechobee, Pasco, Seminole, St. Johns, and Volusia counties.

File:Boat on US 1 (37266756945).jpg in the Florida Keys]]

With Irma making landfall in Monroe County as a Category 4 hurricane, the Florida Keys were hardest hit area in the state. Strong winds and storm surge flooding caused major damage to buildings, trailer parks, boats, roads, the electricity supply, mobile phone coverage, internet access, sanitation, the water supply and the fuel supply throughout the island chain.{{cite news|url=https://nypost.com/2017/09/11/florida-keys-in-crisis-as-state-cleans-up-after-irma/|title=Florida Keys in crisis as state cleans up after Irma|work=New York Post|author=Max Jaeger|date=September 11, 2017|access-date=September 14, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170914122434/http://nypost.com/2017/09/11/florida-keys-in-crisis-as-state-cleans-up-after-irma/|archive-date=September 14, 2017|url-status=live}}{{cite report|url=http://www.weather.gov/media/key/Tropical/PSH_Irma2017.pdf|title=Post Tropical Cyclone Report...Hurricane Irma...Updated|date=September 23, 2017|author=Jon Rizzo|author2=Matt Moreland|publisher=National Weather Service Key West, Florida|access-date=November 23, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171118023326/http://www.weather.gov/media/key/Tropical/PSH_Irma2017.pdf|archive-date=November 18, 2017|url-status=live}} An estimated {{convert|10|ft|m|abbr=on|0}} storm surge occurred at Cudjoe Key, where Irma made landfall.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2017/09/10/after-slamming-keys-irma-to-batter-florida-peninsula-catastrophic-storm-surge-feared/|title=Hurricane Irma battering Florida Peninsula, with 'catastrophic' storm surge feared|newspaper=Washington Post|author1=Jason Samenow|author2=Greg Porter|access-date=September 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170910165844/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2017/09/10/after-slamming-keys-irma-to-batter-florida-peninsula-catastrophic-storm-surge-feared/|archive-date=September 10, 2017|url-status=live}} Throughout the island, 625 homes sustained minor damage, 52 sustained major damage, and 81 were demolished. On Big Pine Key, one of the most devastated islands, 633 homes received minor impact, 299 homes received major impact, and 473 homes were completely destroyed. Overall in Monroe County, 27,649 homes experienced some degree of damage, including 1,179 homes being destroyed, 2,977 homes receiving major damage, and 5,361 suffering minor damage.{{cite report|url=http://www.monroecounty-fl.gov/DocumentCenter/View/12459|title=Approximate Damage Assessment Results|date=November 26, 2017|publisher=Monroe County, Florida, Government|access-date=January 8, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125074601/http://www.monroecounty-fl.gov/DocumentCenter/View/12459|archive-date=January 25, 2018|url-status=live}}

File:Irma 2017-09-10 1932Z.jpg

After devastating the Keys, the storm then struck Collier County as a Category 3 hurricane. Several communities in the county suffered extensive damage, especially along the coast. Throughout the unincorporated areas of the county, 65 homes, including 44 mobile homes, were demolished, while 1,008 homes received major damage. Property damages in unincorporated areas alone reach about $320 million.{{cite news|url=http://www.naplesnews.com/story/news/local/2017/09/26/hurricane-irma-collier-county-tallies-320-million-estimated-damage/703203001/|date=September 26, 2017|title=Collier County tallies $320M of estimated damage from Hurricane Irma|newspaper=Naples Daily News|author=Greg Stanley|access-date=December 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613012837/https://www.naplesnews.com/story/news/local/2017/09/26/hurricane-irma-collier-county-tallies-320-million-estimated-damage/703203001/|archive-date=June 13, 2018|url-status=live}} Lee County was lashed by strong winds and heavy rainfall, which caused prolonged flooding in some areas.{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/09/11/top-forecaster-nothing-irma-expected/656017001/|title=Top forecaster: 'Nothing' about Irma was expected|date=September 11, 2017|author=Chad Gillis|newspaper=USA Today|access-date=December 4, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125033858/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/09/11/top-forecaster-nothing-irma-expected/656017001/|archive-date=January 25, 2018|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=http://news.wgcu.org/post/bonita-springs-still-contending-flooding-weeks-after-irma|title=Bonita Springs Still Contending With Flooding Weeks After Irma|author=Quincy J. Walters|date=September 28, 2017|newspaper=WGCU|access-date=December 5, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125015920/http://news.wgcu.org/post/bonita-springs-still-contending-flooding-weeks-after-irma|archive-date=January 25, 2018|url-status=live}} More than 24,000 homes suffered some degree of damage, with almost 3,000 homes receiving major damage and 89 homes being destroyed.{{cite news|url=http://www.news-press.com/story/news/2017/09/29/hurricane-irma-damage-toll-lee-county-742-million-and-rising/716192001/|title=Hurricane Irma damage toll in Lee County: $742 million and rising|author=Bill Smith|date=September 29, 2017|newspaper=The News-Press|access-date=December 4, 2017}} Damage in the county totaled about $857 million.{{cite news|url=http://www.news-press.com/story/news/education/2017/10/06/lee-county-schools-estimates-hurricane-irma-damage-21-million/740316001/|title=Lee County schools estimates Hurricane Irma damage at $21 million|author=Pamela McCabe|date=October 6, 2017|newspaper=The News-Press|access-date=December 4, 2017}}

Impact in much of the Miami metropolitan area was generally limited to extensive tree and fence damage, as well as widespread power outages. However, in Miami-Dade County, about 1,000 homes received major damage and about 50% of crops were lost. Storm surge caused coastal flooding from Homestead to Downtown Miami, as well as in portions of Miami Beach. Parts of the Florida Heartland were devastated by high winds and flooding, particularly Hendry and Highlands counties. In the former, which has most citrus trees of any county in Florida, about 60% of orange crops were lost.{{cite news|url=http://www.abc2news.com/newsy/irma-leaves-behind-major-crop-damage-for-florida-farmers|title=Irma Leaves Behind Major Crop Damage For Florida Farmers|author=Gabrielle Ware|date=September 12, 2017|newspaper=WMAR-TV|access-date=September 26, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180212092053/https://www.abc2news.com/newsy/irma-leaves-behind-major-crop-damage-for-florida-farmers|archive-date=February 12, 2018|url-status=dead}} Throughout Hendry County, a total of 451 homes had minor damage, 131 homes suffered major damage, and 42 others were destroyed. In Highlands County, 13,138 businesses and homes were damaged to some degree, with 144 being destroyed, 963 sustaining major damage, and 2,408 receiving minor damage. In Orange County, wind gusts reached 79 mph at Orlando International Airport. A wind gust of 91 mph was also recorded in Orlando at the top of the Disney Contemporary Resort.{{Cite web |title=Storm Events Database - Event Details {{!}} National Centers for Environmental Information |url=https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/eventdetails.jsp?id=719499 |access-date=October 21, 2022 |website=www.ncdc.noaa.gov}} Strong winds and heavy rainfall in Central Florida left some wind damage and flooding, necessitating evacuations and rescues, including more than 200 people in Orlo Vista after hundreds of homes were flooded. A total of 2,999 business or homes were damaged in Lake County,{{cite news|url=http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/lake/os-lk-astor-damage-hurricane-irma-20171226-story.html|title=Damage tally for Astor tops $438K, property appraiser says|author=Jerry Fallstrom|date=December 26, 2017|newspaper=Orlando Sentinel|access-date=January 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104202229/http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/lake/os-lk-astor-damage-hurricane-irma-20171226-story.html|archive-date=January 4, 2018|url-status=live}} 7,430 in Seminole County, and 3,457 in Volusia County. Additionally, eight tornadoes touched down in Brevard County, all of which caused damage.{{cite report|url=http://www.weather.gov/media/mlb/surveys/Irma_Survey_102617.pdf|title=Hurricane Irma: September 10-11, 2017, Post Storm Summary|date=September 29, 2017|publisher=National Weather Service Melbourne, Florida|access-date=December 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180109035545/http://www.weather.gov/media/mlb/surveys/Irma_Survey_102617.pdf|archive-date=January 9, 2018|url-status=live}}

File:Overflight of Jacksonville, Florida, after Hurricane Irma.webm

Along much of the Gulf Coast of Florida, to the north of where Irma made landfall, negative storm surges were observed, with water retracting rather than pushing inland, causing little coastal flooding. However, on the opposite coast, extensive erosion and storm surge flooding occurred in the First Coast, especially in Duval and St. Johns counties. In Duval County, the St. Johns River crested at heights that exceeded records set during Hurricane Dora in 1964. Portions of Jacksonville experienced flooding, particularly the downtown area and the Riverside and San Marco neighborhoods, with about 350 people rescued in those sections of the city. Water reached about {{convert|5|ft|m|abbr=on}} high in some homes.{{cite report|url=https://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/wx/afos/p.php?dir=next&pil=PSHJAX&e=201709220139|title=Post Tropical Cyclone Report...Hurricane Irma|date=September 23, 2017|publisher=National Weather Service Jacksonville, Florida|access-date=February 8, 2018}} The city of Jacksonville suffered about $85 million in damage.{{cite news|url=http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2017-12-14/city-expects-85-million-tab-irma-related-costs|title=City expects $85 million tab for Irma-related costs|author=David Bauerlein|date=December 16, 2017|newspaper=The Florida Times-Union|access-date=January 5, 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171216050530/http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2017-12-14/city-expects-85-million-tab-irma-related-costs|archive-date=December 16, 2017}}

In St. Johns County, storm surge left extensive damage to oceanfront properties in Ponte Vedra Beach and Vilano Beach, with several becoming uninhabitable.{{cite news|url=http://jacksonville.com/slideshow/slideshows/slides-photos/2017-09-11/photos-ponte-vedra-oceanfront-homes-hit-hard-irma#slide-1|date=September 11, 2017|title=Photos: Ponte Vedra oceanfront homes hit hard by Irma|newspaper=The Florida Times Union|access-date=December 31, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170914051740/http://jacksonville.com/slideshow/slideshows/slides-photos/2017-09-11/photos-ponte-vedra-oceanfront-homes-hit-hard-irma#slide-1|archive-date=September 14, 2017}}{{cite news|url=http://www.firstcoastnews.com/weather/irma/vilano-beach-homes-torn-apart-by-irma-worsened-by-severe-erosion/474407963|title=Vilano Beach homes torn apart by Irma, worsened by severe erosion|newspaper=WJXX|author=Shelby Danielsen|date=September 13, 2017|access-date=December 31, 2017}} Additionally, some riverfront businesses in St. Augustine's historic district were flooded due to storm surge from the Matanzas River.{{cite news|url=http://news.wjct.org/post/some-downtown-st-augustine-businesses-forced-start-over-after-irma|title=Some Downtown St. Augustine Businesses Forced To Start Over After Irma|newspaper=WJCT|author=Ryan Benk|date=September 15, 2017|access-date=December 31, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180213021535/http://news.wjct.org/post/some-downtown-st-augustine-businesses-forced-start-over-after-irma|archive-date=February 13, 2018|url-status=live}} In nearby Clay County, rainfall and storm surge combined to cause extensive flooding along portions of the Black Creek and the St. Johns River, with record high crests at several locations along the former. About 350 people and 75 animals were rescued from floodwaters throughout the county. A total of 275 homes were destroyed, 175 were inflicted major damage, and 124 received minor damage.{{cite news|url=http://jacksonville.com/metro/news/2017-09-26/clay-officials-catastrophic-damage-hurricane-irma|title=Storm surge damage from Hurricane Irma forces Orange Park condo owners from homes|date=September 26, 2017|author=Teresa Stepzinski|newspaper=The Florida Times Union|access-date=January 2, 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125074611/http://jacksonville.com/metro/news/2017-09-26/clay-officials-catastrophic-damage-hurricane-irma|archive-date=January 25, 2018}}

Three deaths were reported in Georgia due to falling trees and debris, along with widespread wind damage and power outages throughout the state primarily due to fallen trees.{{cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/irma-moves-georgia-bringing-strong-winds-rain-49763467|title=Irma whips Southeast: 3 dead in Georgia, 1 in South Carolina|work=ABC News|author1=Jonathan Landrum Jr.|author2=Russ Bynum|date=September 11, 2017|access-date=September 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912032533/https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/irma-moves-georgia-bringing-strong-winds-rain-49763467|archive-date=September 12, 2017|url-status=dead}} On Tybee Island, as well as St. Simons Island the storm surge caused extensive flooding.{{cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tropical-storm-irma-deaths-georgia-florida-hurricane-surge/|title=Tropical Storm Irma kills at least 2 in Georgia|work=CBS News|date=September 11, 2017|access-date=September 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170911234107/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tropical-storm-irma-deaths-georgia-florida-hurricane-surge/|archive-date=September 11, 2017|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/widespread-damage-across-south-georgia-from-irma/608207162|title=Widespread damage across south Georgia from Irma|publisher=WSBTV|date=September 13, 2017|access-date=July 18, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180719024330/https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/widespread-damage-across-south-georgia-from-irma/608207162|archive-date=July 19, 2018|url-status=live}} The tropical storm also did $54 million in damage in the state.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/eventdetails.jsp?id=719661|title = Storm Events Database - Event Details | National Centers for Environmental Information}}

In Charleston, South Carolina, the third highest storm surge on record was recorded, reaching a height of approximately {{convert|10|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}.{{cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/irma-south-carolina-severe-flooding-power-outages/|title=Irma causes severe flooding, power outages in South Carolina|work=CBS News|date=September 11, 2017|access-date=September 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912013809/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/irma-south-carolina-severe-flooding-power-outages/|archive-date=September 12, 2017|url-status=live}} By of September 12, almost 100,000 had lost power in Upstate South Carolina.{{cite news|url=http://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/2017/09/13/outage-update-33-500-still-without-power-upstate/660850001/|title=Outage update: About 33,500 still without power in Upstate|work=Greenville News|date=September 13, 2017|access-date=September 13, 2017}} Five people died in storm-related incidents across South Carolina, all from indirect incidents.{{cite news|agency=Associated Press|publisher=ABC News 4|date=September 28, 2017|access-date=October 3, 2017|title=S.C.'s Irma death total climbs to 5, as man hurt in wreck succumbs to injuries|url=http://abcnews4.com/news/local/scs-irma-death-total-climbs-to-5-as-man-hurt-in-wreck-succumbs-to-injuries|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171003225826/http://abcnews4.com/news/local/scs-irma-death-total-climbs-to-5-as-man-hurt-in-wreck-succumbs-to-injuries|archive-date=October 3, 2017|url-status=live}} The tropical storm caused damages totaling $500,000 in the state.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/eventdetails.jsp?id=722517|title = Storm Events Database - Event Details | National Centers for Environmental Information}}

Light damage occurred in other areas, including Tennessee.{{Cite news|url=http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2017/09/11/nashvilles-emergency-operations-center-partially-activate-outer-bands-irma-move/654624001/|title=Irma remnants bringing rain, windy conditions to Nashville area|work=The Tennessean|access-date=September 13, 2017|language=en}} About 75,000 customers in North Carolina lost power due to Irma, where two fatalities occurred. {{Cite news|url=http://www.wral.com/about-45-000-without-power-after-irma-blows-through-parts-of-nc/16942561/|title=About 45,000 without power after Irma blows through parts of NC|publisher=WRAL|access-date=September 13, 2017|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912222007/http://www.wral.com/about-45-000-without-power-after-irma-blows-through-parts-of-nc/16942561/|archive-date=September 12, 2017|url-status=live}} The storm also caused $600,000 in damages in Alabama.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/eventdetails.jsp?id=719468|title = Storm Events Database - Event Details | National Centers for Environmental Information}}

{{clear}}

In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Irma's path through the West Indies and Caribbean, the devastation to roads, harbors and airports significantly impeded the transportation and distribution of relief supplies. Foreign countries moved to provide much of the initial aid. The British, Dutch, French, and United States governments sent warships and planes with supplies and manpower to the region.{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/07/politics/hurricane-irma-us-military-operations/index.html |title=US warships begin Hurricane Irma relief operations |date=September 7, 2017 |publisher=CNN |access-date=September 10, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909234659/http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/07/politics/hurricane-irma-us-military-operations/index.html |archive-date=September 9, 2017 |url-status=live }} International leaders, including Dutch King Willem-Alexander and French President Emmanuel Macron, quickly moved to visit affected territories.{{cite web |url=http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/jamaica-trying-to-determine-severity-of-irma-8217-s-impact-on-caribbean-neighbours-france-britain-holland-rush-aid-to-devastated-islands_110330?profile=1373 |title=Dutch King heads to Caribbean to support post-hurricane efforts |date=September 9, 2017 |work=The Jamaica Observer |access-date=September 10, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909141957/http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/jamaica-trying-to-determine-severity-of-irma-8217-s-impact-on-caribbean-neighbours-france-britain-holland-rush-aid-to-devastated-islands_110330?profile=1373 |archive-date=September 9, 2017 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/the-latest-french-leader-to-go-to-hurricane-hit-st-martin/ |title=The Latest: French leader to go to hurricane-hit St. Martin |date=September 10, 2017 |publisher=Fox News Channel |access-date=September 10, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170910224431/http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/09/10/latest-french-leader-to-go-to-hurricane-hit-st-martin.html |archive-date=September 10, 2017 |url-status=live }}

Some of the affected countries and territories also offered assistance to each other. Cuba, which sustained extensive damage from the storm, sent 750 health workers to Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, The Bahamas, Dominica, and Haiti.{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/irma-hurrican-cuba-doctors-carribbean-islands-sends-hundreds-castro-a7938171.html |title=Irma: Cuba sends hundreds of doctors to Caribbean islands devastated by hurricane |date=September 9, 2017 |work=The Independent |access-date=September 10, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909235914/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/irma-hurrican-cuba-doctors-carribbean-islands-sends-hundreds-castro-a7938171.html |archive-date=September 9, 2017 |url-status=live }} Government officials and members of the public in Puerto Rico delivered assistance and evacuated people stranded on other islands. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services granted special 30-day humanitarian visas for British Virgin Islanders to stay in Puerto Rico.{{cite news|author=Luis Ferré-Sadurní|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/10/us/puerto-rico-virgin-islands.html|title=Spared Irma's Worst, Puerto Ricans Sail to Virgin Islanders' Aid|work=The New York Times|date=September 10, 2017|access-date=September 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170911034950/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/10/us/puerto-rico-virgin-islands.html|archive-date=September 11, 2017|url-status=live}} Hundreds of people stranded on Saint Martin were flown to the Dominican Republic on humanitarian grounds.{{cite news|url=https://dominicantoday.com/dr/local/2017/09/12/pawa-dominicana-flight-will-bring-storm-victims-from-saint-maarten/|title=PAWA Dominicana flight will bring storm victims from Saint Maarten|work=Dominican Today|date=September 12, 2017|access-date=September 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010122026/https://dominicantoday.com/dr/local/2017/09/12/pawa-dominicana-flight-will-bring-storm-victims-from-saint-maarten/|archive-date=October 10, 2017|url-status=live}}

In response to Hurricane Jose's approach, the Government of Antigua and Barbuda issued a mandatory evacuation on September 9 for any remaining residents on Barbuda. A Miami cargo plane landed on Antigua later that day, carrying over 60 tons (120,000 lbs) of relief supplies for the displaced storm victims—including bottled water, canned food and power generators.{{cite news|url=https://antiguaobserver.com/governments-hurricane-relief-for-barbuda-begin-arriving-on-antigua-friday/|title=Government's Hurricane relief for Barbuda begin arriving on Antigua Friday|newspaper=Antigua Observer|date=September 9, 2017|access-date=September 9, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909114903/https://antiguaobserver.com/governments-hurricane-relief-for-barbuda-begin-arriving-on-antigua-friday/|archive-date=September 9, 2017|url-status=live}}

File:UK Royal Logistics Corps Mexflote arrives in Anguilla.jpg

RFA Mounts Bay stationed itself near Anguilla and provided support and relief work to the island with its helicopters and 40 marines and army engineers.{{cite news|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/hurricane-irma-navy-sent-in-as-deadly-storm-leaves-terrifying-trail-of-devastation-a3629346.html|title=Hurricane Irma: Queen sends message of support to Caribbean as Navy rush to aid of those caught up in deadly storm|work=Evening Standard|author1=Kate Proctor|author2=Fiona Simpson|date=September 7, 2017|access-date=September 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170907171431/https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/hurricane-irma-navy-sent-in-as-deadly-storm-leaves-terrifying-trail-of-devastation-a3629346.html|archive-date=September 7, 2017|url-status=live}} The ship delivered 6 tonnes of emergency aid to Anguilla and army engineers repaired a fuel leak at Anguilla's main petrol dump, restored power to the island's hospital and provided shelters for those left homeless by the hurricane.{{cite news|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/rfa-mounts-bay-delivers-vital-aid-to-caribbean-islands|title=RFA Mounts Bay delivers vital aid to Caribbean islands|publisher=Government of the United Kingdom|date=September 8, 2017|access-date=September 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909232830/https://www.gov.uk/government/news/rfa-mounts-bay-delivers-vital-aid-to-caribbean-islands|archive-date=September 9, 2017|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/hurricane-irma-update|title=Hurricane Irma update: UK continues to urgently deliver vital aid to the victims of Hurricane Irma|publisher=Government of the United Kingdom|date=September 12, 2017|access-date=September 13, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912222333/https://www.gov.uk/government/news/hurricane-irma-update|archive-date=September 12, 2017|url-status=live}} The ship arrived in the British Virgin Islands on September 8, 2017, to provide emergency relief to the islands, including providing shelters, food and water. HMS Ocean was diverted from the Mediterranean to provide relief from Gibraltar to the affected British Overseas Territories of Anguilla, British Virgin Islands and Turks and Caicos on September 7,{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41193717|title=Hurricane Irma: UK increases relief fund to £32m |publisher=BBC News |date=September 7, 2017|access-date=September 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170910001048/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41193717|archive-date=September 10, 2017|url-status=live}} and aid was also supplied by the Department for International Development from their disaster response center at Kemble Airfield. As part of a £32 million operation named Operation Ruman, nearly 500 UK military personnel with emergency relief were dispatched from RAF Brize Norton.{{cite news|url=http://www.itv.com/news/2017-09-09/hurricane-irma-over-5m-people-in-florida-told-to-evacuate/|title=Hurricane Irma: Millions told to evacuate in Florida as storm batters Cuba|publisher=ITV|date=September 9, 2017|access-date=September 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909225647/http://www.itv.com/news/2017-09-09/hurricane-irma-over-5m-people-in-florida-told-to-evacuate/|archive-date=September 9, 2017|url-status=live}} This included the first deployment of No. 38 Expeditionary Air Wing with three RAF aircraft: two Airbus A400M Atlas and one C-130J Hercules to support relief efforts.

The British government also drafted two members of the UK police cadre into the region on September 10, and 53 police officers were drafted from RAF Brize Norton to the affected British Overseas Territories on September 15 to help maintain order.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41213399|title=Hurricane Irma: UK Royal Marines take aid to victims|publisher=BBC|date=September 9, 2017|access-date=September 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170910001026/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41213399|archive-date=September 10, 2017|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/hurricane-irma-uk-government-actions-update-10-september-2017|title=Hurricane Irma: UK government actions update, 10 September 2017|publisher=Government of the United Kingdom|date=September 10, 2017|access-date=September 11, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170910165901/https://www.gov.uk/government/news/hurricane-irma-uk-government-actions-update-10-september-2017|archive-date=September 10, 2017|url-status=live}} UK politicians, including the chairs of the foreign affairs and development select committees, criticized both the government's preparations for the storm and its response as inadequate.{{cite news|author=Jamie Doward|author2=Toby Helm|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/09/britain-not-doing-enough-to-help-its-caribbean-territories|title=Britain 'not doing enough' to help its Caribbean territories|work=The Guardian|date=September 9, 2017|access-date=September 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912005619/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/09/britain-not-doing-enough-to-help-its-caribbean-territories|archive-date=September 12, 2017|url-status=live}}

File:Royal Marines deliver aid to British Virgin Islands following Irma.jpg, British Virgin Islands]]

By September 12, the Department for International Development had delivered more than 40 tonnes of aid into the region, including into Turks and Caicos, and 1,000 UK military troops were deployed in the region as part of relief efforts. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Theresa May, pledged an additional £25 million worth of funding as part of relief efforts in the region on September 13, 2017, and the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Boris Johnson, said that a further 250 UK military personnel would be deployed into the area within the next few days.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41251594|title=Hurricane Irma: Boris Johnson sees impact on Caribbean|publisher=BBC|date=September 13, 2017|access-date=September 13, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913094608/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41251594|archive-date=September 13, 2017|url-status=live}} Anguilla's Chief Minister, Victor Banks, praised the British government's response to the storm and said that Boris Johnson's visit to the island "sends a very positive signal to Anguillans that the British are serious about their response to this very severe hurricane", but went on to say that the current financial commitment from the UK was not substantial enough.{{cite news|author=Press Association in Anguilla|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/13/boris-johnson-anguilla-absolutely-hellish-hurricane-irma|title=Boris Johnson arrives in Anguilla after 'absolutely hellish' Hurricane Irma|work=The Guardian|date=September 13, 2017|access-date=September 13, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180729111748/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/13/boris-johnson-anguilla-absolutely-hellish-hurricane-irma|archive-date=July 29, 2018|url-status=live}}

By September 15, the United Kingdom had over 70 military personnel and 4 police officers in Anguilla and had delivered 15 tonnes of aid to the island.{{cite news|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/hurricane-irma-uk-government-response-in-numbers-15-september-2017|title=Hurricane Irma: UK government response in numbers, 15 September 2017|publisher=Government of the United Kingdom|date=September 15, 2017|access-date=September 16, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170915214722/https://www.gov.uk/government/news/hurricane-irma-uk-government-response-in-numbers-15-september-2017|archive-date=September 15, 2017|url-status=live}} In the British Virgin Islands, Royal Marines had cleared the airfield so that it was operational for the delivery of aid into the islands, with more than 200 British military personnel and 54 UK police officers on the ground and 8 tonnes of aid delivered to the islands. 120 British military personnel were on the ground in Turks and Caicos, and over 150 shelter kits and 720 liters of water were delivered to the islands on September 15.

Amendments to international aid rules by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (or OECD) allowed for the UK government to provide access to £13 billion worth of aid to the affected British Overseas Territories, through the UK's Official Development Assistance (ODA) by November 2017.{{cite news|url=http://tcweeklynews.com/tci-to-benefit-from-uks-billion-relief-fund-p8268-127.htm|title=TCI to benefit from UK's £13 billion relief fund|date=November 6, 2017|access-date=November 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107055533/http://tcweeklynews.com/tci-to-benefit-from-uks-billion-relief-fund-p8268-127.htm|archive-date=November 7, 2017|url-status=live}}

By the afternoon of September 9, Bahamas Power and Light Company had dispatched crews across the archipelago to repair infrastructure damage. The southernmost islands, which were most severely affected by Irma's eye, remained largely inaccessible for days.{{cite news|url=http://www.thenassauguardian.com/news/76125|title=BPL working to restore electricity supply|access-date=September 9, 2017|date=September 9, 2017|work=The Nassau Guardian|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170910030639/http://www.thenassauguardian.com/news/76125|archive-date=September 10, 2017|url-status=live}} Assessments showed that 15% of the national telecommunications network had been affected, with at least one tower destroyed.{{cite news|url=http://www.tribune242.com/news/2017/sep/12/btc-15-network-gets-irma-impact/|title=BTC: 15% of network gets Irma impact|access-date=September 12, 2017|date=September 12, 2017|work=The Nassau Tribune|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912221944/http://www.tribune242.com/news/2017/sep/12/btc-15-network-gets-irma-impact/|archive-date=September 12, 2017|url-status=live}} Bahamasair resumed a limited domestic schedule on September 10, with international flights still canceled due to existing and anticipated destruction at other destinations.{{cite news|url=http://www.tribune242.com/news/2017/sep/09/hurricane-irma-saturday-updates/|title=Hurricane Irma: All Clear For New Providence, Abaco, Berry Islands, Eleuthera; Hurricane Warnings Remain For Andros, Bimini, Grand Bahama|access-date=September 9, 2017|date=September 9, 2017|work=The Nassau Tribune|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909155922/http://www.tribune242.com/news/2017/sep/09/hurricane-irma-saturday-updates/|archive-date=September 9, 2017|url-status=live}}

The worst devastation occurred on Ragged Island, over which Irma's eye had directly passed. After days of the National Emergency Management Agency not being able to physically reach the island, officials were finally able to inspect it; they promptly declared it uninhabitable.{{cite news|url=http://www.thenassauguardian.com/news/76126|title=Significant damage on Ragged Island|access-date=September 9, 2017|date=September 9, 2017|work=The Nassau Guardian|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170910035017/http://www.thenassauguardian.com/news/76126|archive-date=September 10, 2017|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=http://www.thenassauguardian.com/news/76171|title=Unlivable; Ragged Is. residents to be moved|access-date=September 12, 2017|date=September 12, 2017|work=The Nassau Guardian|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912172854/http://www.thenassauguardian.com/news/76171|archive-date=September 12, 2017|url-status=live}} Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said that it was the worst disaster area he or his officials had ever seen, and that all remaining residents would need to leave, potentially permanently.{{cite news|url=http://www.thenassauguardian.com/news/76170|title=Ragged Islanders tell of Irma's fury|access-date=September 12, 2017|date=September 12, 2017|work=The Nassau Guardian|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912172655/http://www.thenassauguardian.com/news/76170|archive-date=September 12, 2017|url-status=live}} Business leaders and other officials called for a new long-term development model to shift the population away from such sparsely-settled islands.{{cite news|url=http://www.tribune242.com/news/2017/sep/12/small-family-island-model-unsustainable/|title=Small Family Islands Model 'Unsustainable'|access-date=September 12, 2017|date=September 12, 2017|work=The Nassau Tribune|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912221949/http://www.tribune242.com/news/2017/sep/12/small-family-island-model-unsustainable/|archive-date=September 12, 2017|url-status=live}}

On Grand Bahama and Bimini, where tornadoes associated with Irma touched down on September 10, more than 100 people were left displaced. Infrastructure damage included docks, parks, and the power system.{{cite news|url=http://www.thenassauguardian.com/news/76166-more-than-100-people-displaced-by-tornadoes|title=More than 100 people displaced by tornadoes|access-date=September 12, 2017|date=September 12, 2017|work=The Nassau Guardian|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912173204/http://www.thenassauguardian.com/news/76166-more-than-100-people-displaced-by-tornadoes|archive-date=September 12, 2017|url-status=dead}}

Aside from tangible asset losses, Irma brought significant economic damages. International freight shipping was projected to be offline for a week, and costs for rebuilding supplies were inflated due to demand in the U.S.{{Cite news|url=http://www.tribune242.com/news/2017/sep/08/businesses-face-major-supply-chain-disruption/|title=Businesses Face 'Major Supply Chain Disruption'|date=September 8, 2017|work=The Nassau Tribune|access-date=September 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909020638/http://www.tribune242.com/news/2017/sep/08/businesses-face-major-supply-chain-disruption/|archive-date=September 9, 2017|url-status=live|language=en-GB}}

Swollen rivers contributed to worsening flooding in the days after the storm system left, resulting in additional evacuations. Officials resorted to using inflatable rafts to access affected areas. The national electrical infrastructure was said to be extensively damaged.

In the Dominican Republic, flooding worsened following Irma's departure, leading the number of displaced persons to increase to more than 24,000 by September 8. President Danilo Medina ordered further evacuations due to at-risk dams, while the government banned swimming in rivers and ordered boats kept in port.{{cite news|title=Thousands in shelters; towns cut off as downpours, flooding continue|url=https://dominicantoday.com/dr/local/2017/09/08/thousands-in-shelters-towns-cut-off-as-downpours-flooding-continue/|work=Dominican Today|date=September 8, 2017|access-date=September 11, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010130619/https://dominicantoday.com/dr/local/2017/09/08/thousands-in-shelters-towns-cut-off-as-downpours-flooding-continue/|archive-date=October 10, 2017|url-status=live}} More than 422,000 people were left without water due to 28 aqueducts being damaged.{{cite news|title=28 aqueducts damaged, over 422,000 people without piped water|url=https://dominicantoday.com/dr/local/2017/09/11/28-aqueducts-damaged-over-422000-people-without-piped-water/|work=Dominican Today|date=September 11, 2017|access-date=September 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010132505/https://dominicantoday.com/dr/local/2017/09/11/28-aqueducts-damaged-over-422000-people-without-piped-water/|archive-date=October 10, 2017|url-status=live}}

In Haiti, officials stated that losses were greater than they could have been since people largely did not heed early preparation and evacuation warnings. At least 5,000 homes were flooded. One man died trying to cross a flooded river; another went missing and 17 were injured.{{cite news|title=Dominican, Haitian authorities scramble to help hurricane victims|url=https://dominicantoday.com/dr/poverty/2017/09/12/dominican-haitian-authorities-scramble-to-help-hurricane-victims/|work=Dominican Today|date=September 12, 2017|access-date=September 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010132540/https://dominicantoday.com/dr/poverty/2017/09/12/dominican-haitian-authorities-scramble-to-help-hurricane-victims/|archive-date=October 10, 2017|url-status=live}} The trash- and waste-contaminated floodwaters in places like Cap-Haïtien, Ouanaminthe, and Gonaives led to fears of cholera outbreaks. Flooding continued to worsen days after the storm, as runoff from the mountains swelled rivers in low-lying farming communities. United Nations peacekeepers from Brazil were able to gain access to the flooded northwest region to provide urgent aid, but non-governmental organizations and Haitian economists warned that the estimated 30,000 victims would need longer-term assistance as well. Prime Minister Jack Guy Lafontant appointed a government commission to address Irma's effects, with Action Against Hunger in charge of humanitarian coordination.

In the USVI, residents and tourists alike were described as being in a state of traumatic shock. By September 7, the USS Wasp amphibious assault ship had arrived in the USVI to provide supplies, damage assessment, and evacuation assistance. Four additional warships, some of which had already been on their way to Texas to assist with Hurricane Harvey relief, were redirected to the region. At a September 10 news conference, Governor Kenneth Mapp described Irma as a "horrific disaster" for which "[t]here will be no restorations or solutions in days or weeks." The Federal Emergency Management Agency airlifted in goods for residents, who were subjected to a curfew. Norwegian Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean Cruise Line agreed to transport tourists to Florida, contingent upon port availability following the state's own experience with Irma.{{cite news|title='This Is A Horrific Disaster': U.S. Virgin Islands Face Massive Recovery Effort After Hurricane Irma|url=http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2017/09/10/virgin-islands-hurricane-irma/|publisher=CBS New York|date=September 10, 2017|access-date=September 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170910175138/http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2017/09/10/virgin-islands-hurricane-irma/|archive-date=September 10, 2017|url-status=live}}

On Saint John, described as "perhaps the site of Irma's worst devastation on American soil," it took six days for an active-theater disaster zone to be established, leading to criticism of the U.S. government response. The National Guard was delayed in reaching Saint John due to the number of overturned boats left in the harbor.{{cite news|title=Hurricane Irma turned this tiny island into a wasteland|url=https://nypost.com/2017/09/13/hurricane-irma-turned-this-tiny-island-into-a-wasteland/|work=The New York Post|date=September 13, 2017|access-date=September 13, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913173756/http://nypost.com/2017/09/13/hurricane-irma-turned-this-tiny-island-into-a-wasteland/|archive-date=September 13, 2017|url-status=live}} The National Guard was brought in to maintain order, while the Coast Guard brought evacuees to cruise ships bound for San Juan and Miami.{{cite news|title=After Irma, a once-lush gem in the U.S. Virgin Islands reduced to battered wasteland|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/after-irma-a-once-lush-gem-in-the-us-virgin-islands-reduced-to-battered-wasteland/2017/09/12/b49532e0-9736-11e7-af6a-6555caaeb8dc_story.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=September 12, 2017|access-date=September 13, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913014630/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/after-irma-a-once-lush-gem-in-the-us-virgin-islands-reduced-to-battered-wasteland/2017/09/12/b49532e0-9736-11e7-af6a-6555caaeb8dc_story.html|archive-date=September 13, 2017|url-status=live}} There was still no electricity on St. John in the middle of October 2017.{{cite web|last1=Erdman|first1=Jonathan|title=Why Hurricane Maria Was Such a Catastrophe in Puerto Rico|url=https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/2017-10-19-why-hurricane-maria-puerto-rico-catastrophe|website=weather.com|access-date=January 25, 2018|date=October 20, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180222104509/https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/2017-10-19-why-hurricane-maria-puerto-rico-catastrophe|archive-date=February 22, 2018|url-status=live}}

By September 9, more than one million Puerto Ricans were still without power, tens of thousands were without water, and several thousand were still in shelters. Hospitals were operating on generator power. The government was struggling to establish contact with the islands of Culebra and Vieques. By September 10, the main island had recovered enough to serve as a refuge for people stranded on other islands, including 1,200 tourists from Saint Martin and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Airlifts had brought more than 50 patients to Puerto Rico.

Five months after Irma, two-thirds of the hospital beds on Saint Thomas were still unavailable, due to extensive physical damage and staffing shortages.[https://www.npr.org/2018/02/04/582256476/in-the-u-s-virgin-islands-health-care-remains-in-a-critical-state In The U.S. Virgin Islands, Health Care Remains In A Critical State]

Damage to Sint Maarten's harbor and to Princess Juliana International Airport left the Dutch part of Saint Martin unreachable, although the smaller Grand Case-Espérance Airport on the French side could be reopened by September 7 for supply aid by helicopter and airplane.{{cite news|url=https://www.pri.org/stories/2017-09-07/hurricane-irma-leaves-dutch-st-martin-unreachable|title=Hurricane Irma leaves Dutch St. Martin 'unreachable'|access-date=September 7, 2017|date=September 7, 2017|publisher=PRI|agency=Agence France-Presse|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170907182839/https://www.pri.org/stories/2017-09-07/hurricane-irma-leaves-dutch-st-martin-unreachable|archive-date=September 7, 2017|url-status=live}} The French armed forces based in Guadeloupe and French Guiana flew equipment and troops on board a CASA/IPTN CN-235 aircraft.

The following day, the Dutch military was able to airlift dialysis patients off the island while also dropping leaflets to warn islanders about the rapidly approaching Hurricane Jose. Although the airport was closed, 435 students and faculty of the American University of the Caribbean were evacuated by the U.S. military.{{cite web|url=http://aucmed.edu/about/weather-alert.aspx|title=Weather Alert – Hurricane Irma|publisher=American University of the Caribbean Medical School|access-date=September 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909233757/http://aucmed.edu/about/weather-alert.aspx|archive-date=September 9, 2017|url-status=dead}} On September 10, Dutch King Willem-Alexander departed for the region, with intentions to visit Sint Maarten and other affected Dutch territories and commonwealth members.

French President Emmanuel Macron followed this announcement by stating his intentions to visit the French part of the island on September 12 in order to bring aid supplies. In response to criticism of the French handling of the disaster, 1,000 troops, police, and other emergency workers were sent to Saint Martin and Saint Barthélemy.

On both sides of Saint Martin, desperate conditions combined with food and water shortages in Irma's aftermath led to reports of violence, scavenging, and theft. In response, the French government increased its troop deployment to 2,200 and the Dutch government sent more than 600 military and police personnel.{{cite news|author1=Azam Ahmed|author2=Kirk Semple|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/10/world/americas/irma-caribbean-st-martin.html|title=Violence Erupts on Desperate Caribbean Islands: 'All the Food Is Gone'|work=The New York Times|date=September 10, 2017|access-date=September 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170911023404/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/10/world/americas/irma-caribbean-st-martin.html|archive-date=September 11, 2017|url-status=live}}{{cite news|author1=Alastair Jamieson|author2=Daniella Silva|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/hurricane-irma/1-200-americans-evacuated-st-maarten-amid-reports-looting-n800096|title=Over 1,200 Americans Evacuated From St. Maarten Amid Reports of Violence|work=NBC News|date=September 10, 2017|access-date=September 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170910155045/https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/hurricane-irma/1-200-americans-evacuated-st-maarten-amid-reports-looting-n800096|archive-date=September 10, 2017|url-status=live}}

The day after the hurricane hit Saint Barthelemy the French armed forces based in Guadeloupe and French Guiana flew equipment and troops into the reopened Grand Case-Espérance Airport. On September 7 and 9, equipment and personnel were flown from France to Guadeloupe and Martinique.{{cite web |url=http://www.defense.gouv.fr/english/air/actus-air/irma-l-armee-de-l-air-mobilisee |title=Irma, l'Armée de l'Air mobilisée |publisher=French Air Force |date=September 13, 2017 |access-date=September 15, 2017 |language=fr |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010120748/http://www.defense.gouv.fr/english/air/actus-air/irma-l-armee-de-l-air-mobilisee |archive-date=October 10, 2017 |url-status=live }}

File:170914-H-OD937-209 (37474487341).jpg visits Naples, Florida, to talk with people impacted by Hurricane Irma]]

Sporadic reports of looting and burglaries at several Miami Metro area businesses occurred with the theft of non-essential items such as sports apparel and athletic shoes during the height of the storm.{{Cite news|url=http://www.miamiherald.com/news/weather/hurricane/article172486886.html|title=Miami police investigate looting during Hurricane Irma|work=Miami Herald|author=David Smiley|date=September 10, 2017|access-date=September 11, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170911081203/http://www.miamiherald.com/news/weather/hurricane/article172486886.html|archive-date=September 11, 2017|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/BSO-Deputy-Shoots-Teen-Who-Was-Allegedly-Burglarizing-Weston-Home-During-Hurricane-Irma-443574353.html|title=More than 2 dozen arrested for Irma looting in Fort Lauderdale and Miami, deputy shoots alleged teen burglar|publisher=NBC Miami|author=Staff|date=September 10, 2017|access-date=September 11, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170910235316/http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/BSO-Deputy-Shoots-Teen-Who-Was-Allegedly-Burglarizing-Weston-Home-During-Hurricane-Irma-443574353.html|archive-date=September 10, 2017|url-status=live}}

On September 11, Florida Governor Rick Scott conducted an aerial tour to survey the damage to the Keys. The Overseas Highway remained closed while authorities assessed the integrity of the 42 bridges along the route.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41226596|title=Hurricane Irma: Florida launches huge relief operation|work=BBC News|author=Jane O'Brien|date=September 11, 2017|access-date=September 11, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170911111721/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41226596|archive-date=September 11, 2017|url-status=live}} Residents returning to the Keys were faced with a police roadblock, to the south of Florida City.{{cite news|url=https://www.local10.com/weather/hurricane-irma/florida-keys-residents-unable-to-get-home-after-evacuating-for-hurricane-irma|title=Florida Keys residents unable to get home after evacuating for Hurricane Irma|publisher=Local10|author=Ian Margol|date=September 11, 2017|access-date=September 11, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170911180314/https://www.local10.com/weather/hurricane-irma/florida-keys-residents-unable-to-get-home-after-evacuating-for-hurricane-irma|archive-date=September 11, 2017|url-status=live}} USS Iwo Jima, USS New York and aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln were sent to the Keys area to aid with the recovery.{{cite news|url=https://nypost.com/2017/09/11/florida-faces-irmas-devastation-aircraft-carrier-rushes-to-the-keys-13m-are-without-power/|title=Florida faces Irma's devastation: Aircraft carrier rushes to the Keys; 13M are without power|work=New York Post|date=September 11, 2017|access-date=September 13, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913095039/http://nypost.com/2017/09/11/florida-faces-irmas-devastation-aircraft-carrier-rushes-to-the-keys-13m-are-without-power/|archive-date=September 13, 2017|url-status=live}}

On September 12, some residents were allowed to return into the Keys as far as Islamorada. Although road damage blocked entry any farther than Islamorada, bridges had been inspected and found safe to Sugarloaf Key.{{cite news|url=http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/Residents-of-Florida-Keys-Frustrated-at-Roadblock-Keeping-Them-From-Returning-Irma-443772483.html|title=Upper Keys Residents Allowed to Return Tuesday; Majority of Islands Remain Blocked|work=NBC Miami|access-date=September 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912012012/http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/Residents-of-Florida-Keys-Frustrated-at-Roadblock-Keeping-Them-From-Returning-Irma-443772483.html|archive-date=September 12, 2017|url-status=live}} By late on September 12, the Overseas Highway had been repaired and the bridges inspected as safe for first responders to travel to Key West.{{cite news|url=http://www.miamiherald.com/news/weather/hurricane/article173011896.html|title=Keys bridges declared safe for travel. Other obstacles remain for a return|work=Miami Herald|author=Gwen Filosa|date=September 13, 2017|access-date=September 13, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913164016/http://www.miamiherald.com/news/weather/hurricane/article173011896.html|archive-date=September 13, 2017|url-status=live}} On September 16, residents were free to return to Marathon.{{cite news|url=https://www.local10.com/weather/hurricane-irma/monroe-county-reopens-marathon-after-hurricane-irma|title=Monroe County reopens Marathon after Hurricane Irma|work=Local 10 ABC News|author1=Janine Stanwood|author2=Ian Margol|author3=Andrea Torres|date=September 16, 2017|access-date=September 17, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170917050826/https://www.local10.com/weather/hurricane-irma/monroe-county-reopens-marathon-after-hurricane-irma|archive-date=September 17, 2017|url-status=live}} Residents were allowed to return to Key West the following day, although the Keys remained closed to tourists and a checkpoint remained in place in Florida City.{{cite news|url=http://www.miamiherald.com/news/weather/hurricane/article173701381.html|title=Middle Keys residents can return Saturday, but Lower Keys will have to wait one more day|work=Miami Herald|author=David Goodhue|date=September 16, 2017|access-date=September 17, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170916173401/http://www.miamiherald.com/news/weather/hurricane/article173701381.html|archive-date=September 16, 2017|url-status=live}}

File:Florida night-time satellite image before-and-after Hurricane Irma.jpg

Due mainly to the widespread loss of power, cell phone service was also reduced after battery backup power for cell phone towers ran out and backup generators ran out of fuel.{{cite news|last1=Mower|first1=Lawrence|title=Hurricane Irma: Don't have Internet, cable or cell service? Here's why|url=http://www.palmbeachpost.com/weather/hurricane-irma-don-have-internet-cable-cell-service-here-why/CvlBTYe1vsaOisjDia7nFP/|access-date=September 22, 2017|work=Palm Beach Post|date=September 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170923050953/http://www.palmbeachpost.com/weather/hurricane-irma-don-have-internet-cable-cell-service-here-why/CvlBTYe1vsaOisjDia7nFP/|archive-date=September 23, 2017|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last1=Weaver|first1=Jay|title=Can you hear me now? Post-Irma cell coverage spotty|url=http://www.miamiherald.com/news/weather/hurricane/article172972711.html|access-date=September 22, 2017|work=Miami Herald|date=September 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170923002140/http://www.miamiherald.com/news/weather/hurricane/article172972711.html|archive-date=September 23, 2017|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last1=Hurtibise|first1=Ron|title=Hurricane Irma's assault on cellphone towers trigger discounts, freebies|url=http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/fl-bz-hurricane-irma-phone-service-critique-20170915-story.html|access-date=September 22, 2017|work=Sun-Sentinel|date=September 15, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170923002921/http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/fl-bz-hurricane-irma-phone-service-critique-20170915-story.html|archive-date=September 23, 2017|url-status=live}} In an impact report by the FCC, as of 11 AM EDT on September 12, 89 of 108 (82%) cell phone towers were non-functioning in Monroe County (Florida Keys), 154 of 212 (73%) were non-functioning in Collier County (Naples), 36 of 46 (78%) were non-functioning in Hendry County, and an additional six counties had 41-60% of cell phone towers not functioning, including Lee County (Fort Myers) and Miami-Dade County.{{cite web|title=Communications Status Report for Areas Impacted by Hurricane Irma|url=http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2017/db0912/DOC-346690A1.pdf|publisher=Federal Communications Commission|access-date=September 22, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913152119/http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2017/db0912/DOC-346690A1.pdf|archive-date=September 13, 2017|url-status=live|pages=3–7|date=September 12, 2017}}

NOAA released map-format aerial reconnaissance image data of damage from the storm. The imagery featured several areas of Florida: including the Florida Keys, the southwest coast of Florida from Marco Island to Punta Gorda, much of the northeast coast of Florida, and portions of the Jacksonville area. Portions of the Georgia and South Carolina coasts were also photographed.{{cite web|url=https://storms.ngs.noaa.gov/storms/irma/index.html|title=Hurricane Irma Imagery|publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|access-date=September 13, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913163557/https://storms.ngs.noaa.gov/storms/irma/index.html|archive-date=September 13, 2017|url-status=live}} Additionally, the Sun-Sentinel published before and after photos of several landmarks in the Florida Keys.{{cite news|url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/weather/hurricane/sfl-florida-keys-landmarks-before-after-20170913-htmlstory.html|title=Before and after Hurricane Irma: What happened to favorite Florida Keys landmarks?|date=September 25, 2017|author=Michael Mayo|author2=Rod Stafford Hagwood|author3=Phillip Valys|author4=Mike Clary|access-date=April 20, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190420204906/https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/weather/hurricane/sfl-florida-keys-landmarks-before-after-20170913-htmlstory.html|archive-date=April 20, 2019|url-status=live}}

In the days after the hurricane, due to the heavy rainfall, numerous rivers had flooded, including residential areas.{{cite news|url=http://www.miamiherald.com/news/weather/hurricane/article173059131.html|title=Irma leaves behind new threat. Rising flood water disrupts North and Central Florida.|work=Miami Herald|author=Mary Ellen Klas|date=September 13, 2017|access-date=September 14, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170915023308/http://www.miamiherald.com/news/weather/hurricane/article173059131.html|archive-date=September 15, 2017|url-status=live}} Public health risks, such as diarrheal infections and mosquito-borne illnesses, remain from the flooding that resulted in the aftermath of the hurricane. A large concern from flooding is contamination because people become exposed to dirty floodwaters and the potential for contaminated water to enter the local water supply is significant. One example of an illness that can enter the water supply is leptospirosis, which is rat urine carries into the floodwaters. Untreated exposure to leptospirosis can cause kidney damage, meningitis, and liver failure. Noroviruses and other infections are also a risk.{{Cite news|url=https://homelandprepnews.com/featured/24122-flooding-hurricanes-texas-florida-bring-public-health-risks/|title=Flooding from hurricanes in Texas and Florida bring public health risks|last=Kovaleski|first=Dave|date=September 11, 2017|work=Homeland Preparedness News|access-date=September 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170918022023/https://homelandprepnews.com/featured/24122-flooding-hurricanes-texas-florida-bring-public-health-risks/|archive-date=September 18, 2017|url-status=live|language=en-US}}

Following Irma's passage, a {{convert|15|ft|abbr=on|adj=on}} hand-carved wooden canoe was discovered on the banks of the Indian River and could be several hundred years old. The state has removed the canoe for examination and safe keeping.{{cite news|last1=Murphy|first1=Eliza|title=Canoe unearthed by Hurricane Irma could be hundreds of years old|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/canoe-unearthed-hurricane-irma-hundreds-years/story?id=49871086|access-date=September 19, 2017|work=ABC News|date=September 15, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170922124556/https://abcnews.go.com/US/canoe-unearthed-hurricane-irma-hundreds-years/story?id=49871086|archive-date=September 22, 2017|url-status=live}}

Due to Irma's and Hurricane Harvey's impact in Florida and Texas, U.S. employment declined in September 2017 for the first time since September 2010. The leisure and hospitality industries were especially hard hit, losing 111,000 jobs in September.{{cite web|publisher=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy/hurricanes-harvey-irma-sink-u-s-payrolls-in-september-idUSKBN1CB0D3|title=Hurricanes Harvey, Irma sink U.S. payrolls in September|date=October 6, 2017|access-date=October 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171006155335/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy/hurricanes-harvey-irma-sink-u-s-payrolls-in-september-idUSKBN1CB0D3|archive-date=October 6, 2017|url-status=live}}

Irma set multiple records for intensity, especially at easterly longitudes, time spent at such an intensity, and its intensity at landfall. When Irma reached Category 5 intensity with winds of {{convert|175|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} at 11:45 UTC on September 5 at 57.7°W, it became the easternmost Atlantic hurricane of this strength on record, surpassing Hurricane David of 1979, later beaten by Hurricane Lorenzo 2 years later.{{cite tweet |author=Philip Klotzbach |user=philklotzbach |number=905037369627222016 |date=September 5, 2017 |title=#Irma is the furthest east in Atlantic that we've had a 175 mph hurricane on record (57.7°W). Previous record: David-1979 (66.2°W). |access-date=September 5, 2017 }} By 00:15 UTC on September 6, Irma reached peak intensity with {{convert|155|kn|mph|round=5|disp=out}} ({{convert|155|kn|km/h|round=5|disp=out}}) winds and a minimum pressure of {{convert|914|mbar|hPa inHg|abbr=on}}. This ties it with Hurricane Mitch of 1998, Hurricane Rita of 2005, and Hurricane Milton of 2024 as the sixth-strongest Atlantic hurricane by wind speed. Only five other Atlantic hurricanes have been recorded with wind speeds higher than Irma: Hurricane Allen of 1980, which had maximum sustained winds of {{convert|190|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}, and the 1935 Labor Day hurricane, Hurricane Gilbert of 1988, Hurricane Wilma of 2005, and Hurricane Dorian of 2019, all of which had peak winds of {{convert|185|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}.{{cite tweet |author=Philip Klotzbach |user=philklotzbach |number=905136534143213568 |date=September 5, 2017 |title=#Irma now has winds of 185 mph – tied w/ FL Keys (1935), Gilbert & Wilma for 2nd strongest Atlantic winds on record. Allen is #1 at 190 mph. |access-date=September 5, 2017 }} At the time, Irma was also the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean outside the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico; later surpassed by Hurricane Dorian,{{cite web|author=Alessandra Potenza|title=Irma is now one of the strongest hurricanes ever recorded in the Atlantic|url=https://www.theverge.com/2017/9/5/16254858/hurricane-irma-category-5-forecasts|website=The Verge|date=September 5, 2017|access-date=September 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909152614/https://www.theverge.com/2017/9/5/16254858/hurricane-irma-category-5-forecasts|archive-date=September 9, 2017|url-status=live}} and was the strongest Atlantic hurricane since Wilma in terms of maximum sustained winds, and the most intense in terms of pressure since Dean in 2007.{{cite web|title=Hurricane Irma Meteorological Records/Notable Facts Recap|url=https://webcms.colostate.edu/tropical/media/sites/111/2017/09/Hurricane-Irma-Records.pdf|publisher=Colorado State University|access-date=September 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909213248/https://webcms.colostate.edu/tropical/media/sites/111/2017/09/Hurricane-Irma-Records.pdf|archive-date=September 9, 2017|url-status=live}} In addition, Irma achieved one of the longest durations of Category 5 strength winds, and the third-highest accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) index for a tropical cyclone in the Atlantic basin, with a value of 64.9 units. Only the 1899 San Ciriaco hurricane and Hurricane Ivan in 2004 achieved higher values.{{cite web|title=Record-breaking Irma remains on track to spare Pee Dee|url=http://www.scnow.com/news/hurricane_irma/article_9706f12a-95b3-11e7-b100-53df58687acc.html|website=SC Now Morning News|author=Staff Reports|date=September 9, 2017 |access-date=September 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170910022337/http://www.scnow.com/news/hurricane_irma/article_9706f12a-95b3-11e7-b100-53df58687acc.html|archive-date=September 10, 2017|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=Real-Time North Atlantic Ocean Statistics by Storm for 2017|url=http://tropical.atmos.colostate.edu/Realtime/index.php?loc=northatlantic|publisher=Colorado State University - ACE Calculations|access-date=September 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912233819/http://tropical.atmos.colostate.edu/Realtime/index.php?loc=northatlantic|archive-date=September 12, 2017|url-status=live}}

On September 6, Irma made landfall on the islands of Barbuda, Saint Martin, and Virgin Gorda at peak strength. This ties Irma with cyclones Monica of 2006 and Winston of 2016, and typhoons Zeb of 1998 and Megi of 2010 as the seventh-strongest tropical cyclone to make landfall globally – in terms of sustained winds – trailing only Typhoon Goni of 2020 which bore winds of {{convert|195|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} at landfall, Typhoon Haiyan of 2013 and Typhoon Meranti of 2016, which bore winds of {{convert|190|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} at landfall, and the 1935 Labor Day hurricane, Typhoon Joan of 1959, and Hurricane Dorian of 2019, which bore winds of {{convert|185|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} at landfall.{{cite web|last1=Henson|first1=Bob|title=Saipan Ravaged by Yutu: Photos and a First-Hand Account|url=https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/Saipan-Ravaged-Yutu-Photos-and-First-Hand-Account|publisher=Weather Underground|access-date=October 29, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181030035701/https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/Saipan-Ravaged-Yutu-Photos-and-First-Hand-Account|archive-date=October 30, 2018|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last1=Masters|first1=Jeff|title=Winston's 180 mph Winds in Fiji: Southern Hemisphere's Strongest Storm on Record|url=https://maps.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=3250|publisher=Weather Underground|access-date=April 8, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181030035644/https://maps.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=3250|archive-date=October 30, 2018|url-status=dead}} Irma is second to the 1935 Labor Day hurricane and Hurricane Dorian of 2019 as the strongest landfalling cyclone on record in the Atlantic basin, and is the first hurricane to make landfall anywhere in the Atlantic at Category 5 status since Felix in 2007.{{cite web|author=Bob Henson|title=Category 5 Irma Hits Leeward Islands at Peak Strength|url=https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/category-5-irma-hits-leeward-islands-peak-strength|website=Weather Underground|access-date=September 6, 2017|date=September 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170906181245/https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/category-5-irma-hits-leeward-islands-peak-strength|archive-date=September 6, 2017|url-status=live}} Irma is the first recorded Category 5 hurricane to affect the northern Leeward Islands, and was one of the worst storms to hit the region on record, along with Hurricane Donna in 1960 and Hurricane Luis in 1995. In addition, Irma is only the second hurricane on record to make landfall in Cuba at Category 5 intensity, with the other being a hurricane in 1924. Furthermore, when Irma made landfall on Barbuda, Saint Martin, Virgin Gorda, and Cuba as a Category 5 hurricane, it became one of only two recorded Atlantic storms to make landfall in multiple nations at this strength; the other was Hurricane Andrew in 1992, which struck both Eleuthera and the United States as a Category 5 hurricane.{{cite web |last1=Moore |first1=Tom |title=Monsters of the Atlantic: The Basin's Category 5 Hurricanes |url=https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/atlantic-hurricane-category-five-history-0 |publisher=The Weather Channel |access-date=September 16, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170906093016/https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/atlantic-hurricane-category-five-history-0 |archive-date=September 6, 2017 |url-status=live }}

Irma made landfall in the Florida Keys with winds of {{convert|130|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} and a pressure of {{convert|931|mbar|hPa inHg|abbr=on}}, making it the strongest hurricane to strike Florida in terms of wind speed since Charley in 2004, and the most intense to strike the state in terms of barometric pressure since Andrew in 1992. In the span of two weeks, two Category 4 hurricanes—Harvey and Irma—struck the continental United States, the first time on record two Atlantic tropical cyclones of such strength made landfall on the country in the same hurricane season.{{Cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/10/us/irma-facts-record-numbers-trnd/index.html|title=All the records Irma has already broken – and other jaw-dropping stats|author=Brandon Miller|date=September 10, 2017|publisher=CNN|access-date=September 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170910204138/http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/10/us/irma-facts-record-numbers-trnd/index.html|archive-date=September 10, 2017|url-status=live}}{{cite web|author=Sy Mukherjee|title=This Is the First Time Two Category 4 Hurricanes Have Made U.S. Landfall in a Single Season|url=http://fortune.com/2017/09/10/hurricane-irma-landfall/|work=Fortune|date=September 10, 2017|access-date=September 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170910153748/http://fortune.com/2017/09/10/hurricane-irma-landfall/|archive-date=September 10, 2017|url-status=live}} This also marked only the third occurrence of two consecutive Atlantic storms making landfall in the United States as major hurricanes. The other two instances were the Great Charleston and Cheniere Caminada hurricanes in 1893, and hurricanes Ivan and Jeanne in 2004.

{{See also|List of retired Atlantic hurricane names}}

Because of the extensive damage and loss of life the hurricane caused in the northeastern Caribbean and the United States, particularly in Florida, the World Meteorological Organization retired the name Irma from its rotating naming lists in April 2018; it will never again be used for another Atlantic hurricane. It was replaced with Idalia for the 2023 season.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/national/hurricane-names-harvey-irma-maria-and-nate-being-retired/2018/04/12/1d594506-3e4d-11e8-955b-7d2e19b79966_story.html |title=Hurricane names Harvey, Irma, Maria and Nate being retired|newspaper=Washington Post|agency=Associated Press|date=April 12, 2018|access-date=April 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180413043249/https://www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/national/hurricane-names-harvey-irma-maria-and-nate-being-retired/2018/04/12/1d594506-3e4d-11e8-955b-7d2e19b79966_story.html|archive-date=April 13, 2018|url-status=dead}}

{{Portal|Tropical cyclones|Caribbean|Cuba|United States|Florida}}

• List of Category 5 Atlantic hurricanes
• List of Cuba hurricanes
• List of Florida hurricanes (2000-present)
• 1928 Okeechobee hurricane – a hurricane that hit similar areas

• Hurricane Donna (1960) – took a similar track to Irma until landfall in Florida
• Hurricane Hugo (1989) – a Category 5 hurricane which also formed east of the Lesser Antilles

• Hurricane Matthew (2016) – caused damage and deaths in Haiti, before moving to The Bahamas and then skimming the coastline of Florida, before moving up the coast

• Hurricane Ian (2022) – made landfall in Florida five years later as a high-end Category 4 hurricane
• Hurricane Helene (2024) – made landfall in the Big Bend as a Category 4 hurricane that also affected the Appalachian Mountains
• Hurricane Milton (2024) – another Category 5 hurricane which made landfall in Florida as a Category 3 hurricane seven years later; also prompted the largest evacuation in the state since Irma
• Hurricane Oscar (2024) – a smaller and weaker hurricane which had a similar track to Irma until it reached Cuba
• Operation RUMAN – UK military-civil disaster relief response to Hurricane Irma.
• Tropical cyclones in 2017
• Weather of 2017

{{Reflist|group=nb}}

{{reflist|30em}}

{{Commons category}}

{{Attached KML}}

• The National Hurricane Center's [http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2017/IRMA.shtml advisory archive on Hurricane Irma]
• {{YouTube|id=zZJIR-FJgRk|title=Hurricane Irma Viewed from the International Space Station}}
• Ready.gov's advice on [https://www.ready.gov/hurricanes Hurricanes]
• [https://www.app.com/story/news/local/2014/09/18/superstorm-sandy-hurricane-disaster/15826111/ "The $100 Billion Hurricane?"] by Todd B. Bates
• Copernicus Emergency Management Service - damage grading and delineation maps:
• [https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20181005221109/http://emergency.copernicus.eu/mapping/list-of-components/EMSR232 EMSR232: Hurricane Irma in Antilles Islands]
• [https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20181005221539/http://emergency.copernicus.eu/mapping/list-of-components/EMSR233 EMSR233: Hurricane Irma in Haiti and Dominican Republic]
• [https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20181005223205/http://emergency.copernicus.eu/mapping/list-of-components/EMSR234 EMSR234: Hurricane Irma in Sint Maarten]
• [https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20181005221127/http://emergency.copernicus.eu/mapping/list-of-components/EMSR236 EMSR236: Hurricane Irma in British Virgin Islands]

{{Retired Atlantic hurricanes}}

{{Category 5 Atlantic hurricanes}}

{{2017 Atlantic hurricane season buttons}}

{{Florida}}

{{First presidency of Donald Trump}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Irma (2017)}}

Hurricane Irma

Category:2017 Atlantic hurricane season

Hurricane Irma

Hurricane Irma

Hurricane Irma

Hurricane Irma

Hurricane Irma

Hurricane Irma

Hurricane Irma

Hurricane Irma

Hurricane Irma

Hurricane Irma

Hurricane Irma

Hurricane Irma

Hurricane Irma

Hurricane Irma

Hurricane Irma

Hurricane Irma

Hurricane Irma

Hurricane Irma

Hurricane Irma

Hurricane Irma

Hurricane Irma

Category:2017 natural disasters

Category:Articles containing video clips

Category:Cape Verde hurricanes

Irma

Hurricane Irma

Irma

Irma

Irma

Irma

Irma

Irma

Irma

Irma

Irma

Irma

Irma

Irma

Irma

Irma

Irma

Irma

Irma

Irma

Irma

Hurricane Irma

Irma

Irma

Hurricane Irma

Hurricane Irma

Irma