Hurricane Irma: 90 per cent of Barbuda buildings destroyed as monster storm roars through Caribbean

Four people have reportedly been killed by Irma, one of the most powerful Atlantic storms in a century, which has howled past Puerto Rico after thrashing several smaller Caribbean islands with roof-ripping winds, drenching rains and pounding surf on a collision course with Florida.

Fatalities were reported on four different islands, with weather forecasters describing Irma as a "potentially catastrophic" category five storm, the highest US classification for hurricanes.

The dual-island nation of Antigua and Barbuda was especially hard hit.

The northernmost island, Barbuda, home to roughly 1,700 people, was "totally demolished", with 90 per cent of all dwellings there levelled, Prime Minister Gaston Browne said, according to island television broadcasts.

http://www.abc.net.au