A cell tower is crumpled on the island of Barbuda, after the passage of Hurricane Irma, 6 September 2017. Photo: Antigua/Barbuda Broadcasting Services

By Christopher Brennan
6 September 2017
(New York Daily News) – The island of Barbuda is “literally under water” and “barely habitable” after nearly all of its buildings were destroyed by Hurricane Irma.Gaston Browne, prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda, told a local ABS broadcaster that one baby had died and about 60% of the population of about 1,800 is now homeless after Irma bore down upon the eastern Caribbean.The islands’ minister of foreign affairs reportedly told the network that more than 90% of buildings were destroyed by the Category 5 storm with 185 mph winds. […]The estimated cost of rebuilding Barbuda is expected to be at least $150 million, the beginning of what could be a devastating impact from the storm that has hit Puerto Rico and is now moving towards the U.S. mainland. [more]

Island of Barbuda ‘literally under water’ after Hurricane Irma, prime minister says