Hurricane Irma caused life-changing devastation after it ripped across the Caribbean and the US state of Florida. Meteorologists have described it as one of the most powerful hurricanes ever recorded.
Irma's maximum wind speeds reached 185mph, tying it with the 1935 Florida Keys hurricane and Hurricane Gilbert from 1988. Irma only trailed Hurricane Allen, which hit 190mph wind speeds. At its peak, Irma was a category five hurricane, the highest possible. It stayed that way for three consecutive days which is the longest time ever seen since satellites have been monitoring the Earth's weather.
Irma hit the Leeward Islands with its maximum 185mph wind speeds, making it the strongest hurricane to ever hit this part of the world, surpassing the 160mph storms that had previously landed there. It was also the first category five hurricane to hit Cuba since 1924; and the first of that strength to make landfall in the Bahamas since 1992.
In the satellite images below, the destruction caused by Irma is made painfully clear.
Key West, Florida
This 'after' image of an area of Key West, Florida, looks eerily fake. The turquoise ocean surrounding the land isn't actually clear of algae now, it only appears so because rougher surfaces, caused by stormy winds, scatter more light and appear brighter and lighter.
Before: January 2016
After: September 11, 2017
Necker Island
Irma's howling winds ripped up the lush green trees coating Necker Island, leaving the ground bare and brown. The solar power structure towards the middle of the image lost its panels, and the beach to the right of it has receded fairly significantly.
Before: November 2016
After: September 9, 2017
Parham Town, Tortola
The most noticeable change to Parham Town is shown on the bottom left of the images. The trees have been blown away, revealing stark white winding roads behind. The entire areas of homes and buildings above these roads have also been wrecked.
Before: November 2016
After: September 9, 2017
Codrington Port, Barbuda
The trees which used to line the Port on the top left of this satellite image have been covered in a layer of brown, presumedly caused by salt spray and dirt whipped up by the hurricane. The sports pitches to the right of this have also been destroyed, and wreckage from the buildings litters the ground.
Before: April 2014
After: September 8, 2017
Providenciales, Turks and Caicos
The cluster of buildings in the centre of the image have been completely destroyed, so they now look like litter strewn across the ground. In the bottom left, the storm has churned up an area of brown sludge.
Before: January 2016
After: September 10, 2017
Philipsburg, Sint Maarten
On the left of this image, there is a body of water that, like so many other areas, has been blackened by the storm. The blue and red rooftops, which appear to be industrial buildings, have remained intact. These only make the wreckage around them more obvious.
Before: August 2016
After: September 11, 2017
Key West, Florida
The stark change in these images is instantly noticeable. The beach which runs along for a short distance, seen in the middle, has eroded what used to be a tree-lined road.
Before: January 2017
After: September 11, 2017
Virgin Islands
These images of the Virgin Islands, captured by the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on NASA's Landsat 8 satellite, show just how much Hurricane Irma has changed the landscape. What once was green has turned completely brown, so much so that it is noticeable from space. This could be because the tropical vegetation was ripped away by the storm’s strong winds, or because salt spray whipped up by the hurricane can coat and desiccate leaves while they are still on the trees. The churning of the ocean's surface has made it appear lighter.
Before: August 25, 2017
After: September 10, 2017
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
