Hurricane Irma returns to CATEGORY 5 as storm blasts Cuba with furious 160mph winds
Hurricane Irma has made landfall in Cuba as a Category 5 storm, strengthening as it moves through the region towards Florida.
Category 5 Hurricane Irma hits Cuba on its way to Florida
Irma struck the Camaguey Archipelago with 160 mph (260 kph) winds, downing power lines and causing chaos on the island.
Category 5 is the most powerful a hurricane can be under the NHC’s grading system.
But the majority of the island is expected to escape the furious eyeball of the storm.
It is currently unclear if there were any casualties following the landfall of Irma, which has claimed at least 23 lives so far.
It comes after the National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a horrifying warning to Florida residents under the looming threat of Hurricane Irma.
The Government agency shared maps of Irma ahead of landfall on the Florida Coast.
And in a terrifying, all capitalised tweet, the Key West bureau of the agency told residents: “THIS IS AS REAL AS IT GETS.
“NOWHERE IN THE FLORIDA KEYS WILL BE SAFE.
“YOU STILL HAVE TIME TO ESCAPE”.
Meanwhile Emergency services in Florida have warned residents they will stop answering to calls once Hurricane Irma's deadly winds hit the state.
Pasco County public safety administrator Kevin Guthrie said:"If you have a heart attack, if you have a stroke, if you have some type of medical emergency, we will not come and help you.
"The emergency management standard is that once tropical storm force-winds get to 40 or 45 mph and are sustained for one minute or longer, your emergency services department ceases to respond to calls for service.
"We are asking people to go to a loved one’s house, evacuate the area, heed our warnings."