The most striking images of Hurricane Irma
Aftermath of a powerful storm.

At over 420 miles wide, Hurricane Irma was one of the most powerful storms ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean. As it churned its way from the Antilles to the continental United States—while maintaining imposing force throughout—Irma left behind a trail of destruction. It grew to a scale-topping Category 5 storm on Tuesday, September 5th—making it the second major hurricane to threaten land in the past two weeks—and brought catastrophic damage to Barbuda, the Antilles, Puerto Rico, and Cuba before pummeling the continental United States.
It will be days before we can take account of the full scope of Irma’s wrath, but glimpses from social media give us some idea. Here are a few of the most striking images of Hurricane Irma being shared across the web.
A drive through the streets of Barbuda. The damage is truly horrendous pic.twitter.com/WuBBEcQce7
— Laura Bicker (@BBCLBicker) September 8, 2017
On the ground the destruction is worse the than the Prime Minister feared. The whole island will have to be rebuilt pic.twitter.com/W6kkQUPSgf
— Laura Bicker (@BBCLBicker) September 8, 2017
In the wake of Hurricane Irma, the BBC’s Laura Bickler visited the island of Barbuda to report on the damage.
Now DL302 has to climb out of SJU, and they're doing so between the outer band of #Irma and the core of the storn. Amazing stuff. pic.twitter.com/lOq9Te5DO6
— Jason Rabinowitz (@AirlineFlyer) September 6, 2017
A Delta flight takes off from San Juan ahead of Hurricane Irma.
The outer wall of Hurricane Irma hits Marco Island, Florida.
A beached manatee as Hurricane Irma sucks water out of Sarasota Bay from viewer Billie Brown. #TrackingIrma pic.twitter.com/CJhbRdlmfE
— NBC2 (@NBC2) September 10, 2017
Hurricane Irma sucked water out of Florida’s Sarasota Bay, beaching a manatee.
The streets of downtown Miami as rivers.
WOW! Look at these pictures of Brickell Ave. in downtown Miami. INSANE! Please be safe. #HurricaneIrma #Miami #Soflo @nbc6 pic.twitter.com/0kymVvLXnZ
— Erika Glover ? (@ErikaGloverNBC6) September 10, 2017
Brikell Avenue in downtown Miami during Irma’s storm surge.
UNREAL: Look at the pier at Fort Myers Beach right now #TrackingIrma #HurricaneIrma #SWFL
— Jeff Butera (@ABC7Jeff) September 10, 2017
Credit: Jody Drovdlic pic.twitter.com/IekdcJmYre
The waters around Fort Myers Beach Pier completely receded.
WATCH: High winds and severe flooding near Waterfront Park in downtown Charleston, South Carolina
— NBC News (@NBCNews) September 11, 2017
(Via Patrick Spoon) pic.twitter.com/5DZ84KMNff
Tropical Storm Irma brings high winds and severe flooding to downtown Charleston, South Carolina.
The clean-up of Miami begins.
The morning after on Fisher Island, Florida.
Hurricane Irma Turns Caribbean Islands Brown https://t.co/CIOrCeYzfG/ #NASA pic.twitter.com/tqkwXVCTrJ
— NASA Earth (@NASAEarth) September 11, 2017
Satellite images from NASA show Hurricane Irma turning the Caribbean islands brown.
Via Suomi NPP, what the power situation was like overnight in S. Flo (top) vs a Normal night (bottom) pic.twitter.com/dW7aWOApCg
— Marshall Shepherd (@DrShepherd2013) September 11, 2017
Above: What power outages looked like in South Florida during Hurricane Irma. Bottom: What South Florida looks like on a “normal” evening.