The one-two punch delivered by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma has left the southern United States and many islands in the northern Caribbean reeling, collectively resulting in more than 130 deaths, massive long-term flooding, and property damage totaling to a minimum of $132 billion — a number expected to climb dramatically as the aftermath of Irma’s rampage is assessed.

The first major hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. in 12 years, Harvey was also the wettest tropical hurricane on record in the contiguous United States., dumping 51.88 inches (1,31.8 centimeters) — four and one-third feet — of rainfall. The resulting flooding inundated hundreds of thousands of homes, displacing more than 30,000 people.
read more

Hurricane Irma, an “extremely dangerous” Category 5 storm, is now moving toward the northern Lesser Antilles and Southern Florida. It’s already the strongest hurricane ever recorded outside the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico, and its current track suggests landfall somewhere in Florida over the weekend. Right now, the track looks as if it will hit southern Florida. Depending on whether or not it weakens as it moves through the Lesser Antilles, it could be one of the most powerful hurricane strikes in the history of the state.
read more