Irma “is the kind of storm where you get thousands of lives lost,” said Chuck Watson, a Savannah, Georgia-based disaster modeller with Enki Research. Cotton prices also climbed on potential crop damage, while natural gas slid on speculation the storm will wipe out demand for the power-plant fuel. Midcie Francis, spokesperson for National Office of Disaster Services for Antigua and Barbuda, said there had been massive destruction on the island. Barbuda was “totally demolished,” with 90 per cent of all dwellings there levelled, Prime Minister Gaston Browne said, according to island television broadcasts. Across the Caribbean the cost of damage could easily reach US$8 billion to US$10 billion, Watson said.

Source: National Post September 06, 2017 19:38 UTC