The U.S. National Weather Service said the eye of Category 5 Hurricane Irma passed over Barbuda around 1:47 a.m. The Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Irma was maintaining Category 5 strength with sustained winds near 295 km/h and heading west-northwest. The skies darkened in Point-a-Pitre on the French overseas island of Guadeloupe, as islanders braced themselves for the arrival of Hurricane Irma Wednesday. Government officials began evacuations and urged people to finalize all preparations as store shelves emptied out around Puerto Rico. The National Hurricane Center shows the predicted travel path for Hurricane Irma.

Source: CBC News September 06, 2017 04:39 UTC