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Britons evacuated as Hurricane Irma hits Britons evacuated as Hurricane Irma hits
(35 minutes later)
Britons in the Caribbean and Florida have been urged to follow evacuation orders as the most powerful Atlantic storm in a decade heads towards them. Britons in the Caribbean and Florida have been urged to follow evacuation orders as the most powerful Atlantic storm in a decade hits the region.
The Foreign Office warned that Hurricane Irma would bring hazardous conditions to Puerto Rico and parts of the Caribbean from Wednesday and to Florida on Friday. The Foreign Office warned that Hurricane Irma would bring hazardous conditions to the area.
Puerto Rico has declared a state of emergency as it prepares to be hit. Briton James Fairs, who lives on the island of St Kitts, said experiencing the storm was "pretty scary".
British Airways sent an aircraft to collect 326 customers on Tuesday. Airlines were forced to ground or divert flights, and British Airways evacuated 326 passengers from Antigua.
Thousands of travellers had their holiday plans thrown into chaos as airlines were forced to ground or divert flights. Some travellers have been left stranded after being unable to get a flight following the category five hurricane - the highest possible level.
The Royal Navy ship RFA Mounts Bay, which is currently in the Caribbean on operations to counter drugs smuggling, is on standby to help. The storm - which has sustained wind speeds reaching 295km/h (185mph) - has already caused major flooding and damage to buildings on several islands.
BA said that with Antigua and St Kitts airports closed on Wednesday, no further relief flights had been planned.
"We are making sure our customers are well looked after in their hotels and are constantly monitoring the situation and liaising with the airport authorities in the region," a spokesman said.
Virgin Atlantic warned that any customers booked on flights to or from Antigua, Havana and Miami between Wednesday and Monday may need to rebook. The airline said it had cancelled a flight to Antigua on Thursday.
San Juan airport, the busiest in Puerto Rico, has cancelled about 40% of its flights in response to the hurricane.
Thomas Cook has postponed two flights from Manchester for 24 hours - one going to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic on Thursday, and a flight travelling to Cuban airport Vardadero on Friday.
The category five hurricane, the highest possible level, has sustained wind speeds reaching 300km/h (185mph).
Six islands in the Bahamas are being evacuated on Wednesday.
'Anxious wait'
The eye of the storm hit the island of Barbuda, which has a population of about 2,000 people, shortly after 01:00 local time (05:00 GMT).The eye of the storm hit the island of Barbuda, which has a population of about 2,000 people, shortly after 01:00 local time (05:00 GMT).
Its sister island Antigua escaped major damage, with no loss of life, Prime Minister Gaston Browne said on Facebook, but the situation on Barbuda is unclear. It has since hit Antigua, before moving on to Saint Martin and Saint Barthélemy - the French holiday destination popularly known as St Barts.
"We really don't know what's happening," Antigua-based British journalist Gemma Handy told the BBC. 'Nothing available'
"Lots of people right now are waiting very anxiously for word from their relatives over there," she said. Mas Rezai, from London, is on holiday in the Dominican Republic with his family but has not been able to leave the island.
The hurricane is moving towards Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. "We want to go home but British Airways say they do not have flights available," he said.
Holidaymaker Alex Woolfall, from London, tweeted from his hotel on the nearby island of Saint Martin where he was taking cover in a stairwell after being evacuated from his room. "When I complained and asked why British Airways wasn't providing a plane to get British citizens out they told me they simply had nothing available.
"Now we are hearing the airport is closed too. We just want to go home as soon as possible."
BA sent an aircraft to Antigua on Tuesday to collect 326 customers.
"We are making sure our customers are well looked after in their hotels and are constantly monitoring the situation and liaising with the airport authorities in the region," a spokesman said.
Pippa Holman, 24, is on holiday with her parents and sister in Antigua and said they had been "incredibly fortunate" to avoid the worst of the storm.
"The anticipation was the most frightening part," she said. "It was howling around us, but we were really fortunate the damage was relatively limited."
Holidaymaker Alex Woolfall, from London, tweeted from his hotel on the nearby island of Saint Martin, where he was taking cover in a stairwell after being evacuated from his room.
He wrote: "My God this noise! It's like standing behind a jet engine!! Constant booms & bangs. At least concrete stairwell not moving."He wrote: "My God this noise! It's like standing behind a jet engine!! Constant booms & bangs. At least concrete stairwell not moving."
He added: "May be my last tweet as power out and noise now apocalyptic. This is like a movie I never want to see."He added: "May be my last tweet as power out and noise now apocalyptic. This is like a movie I never want to see."
Alison Strand, originally from Staffordshire, is on the island of Anguilla. She said her family had spent several hours fortifying her home on the coast, which she expected to be "the first house hit by the storm". Mr Fairs, who lives at Frigate Bay in St Kitts, said the hurricane felt like being on a plane as it takes off.
"Our house is 5m (15ft) above sea level and we're expecting 8m swells, so we're just crossing our fingers," she said. "We are expecting to lose our wooden roof." "At one point we could see what we thought was lightning through the curtains but when we looked out we could see live electricity cables dancing around in the dark," he said.
She told the BBC she had a "little dance party" with her four children on Tuesday night to drown out the noise of the storm as it approached. Sir Richard Branson said he had experienced a night of "howling wind and rain" as the hurricane "edges ever closer" to his private Necker Island, in the British Virgin Islands.
Sir Richard Branson said he had experienced a night of "howling wind and rain" as the hurricane "edges ever closer" to his private Necker Island. Writing a blog on Wednesday, he said: "All of us slept together in two rooms. I haven't had a sleepover quite like it since I was a kid.
Writing in his blog on Wednesday, he said: "All of us slept together in two rooms. I haven't had a sleepover quite like it since I was a kid.
"The atmosphere is eerie but beautiful. Everyone is willing the eye of the storm to veer away from the British Virgin Islands in these last few hours."The atmosphere is eerie but beautiful. Everyone is willing the eye of the storm to veer away from the British Virgin Islands in these last few hours.
"We are expecting to get the full force of the hurricane in around five hours' time, when we will retreat to a concrete wine cellar under the Great House.""We are expecting to get the full force of the hurricane in around five hours' time, when we will retreat to a concrete wine cellar under the Great House."
Briton Carolyne Coleby, who runs a guest house on the island of Montserrat, said locals were desperately trying to secure their houses with boards and remove any potential debris from outside spaces. The Royal Navy ship RFA Mounts Bay, which is currently in the Caribbean on operations to counter drugs smuggling, is on standby to help.
She said: "The winds are starting to pick up and the clouds are coming in. The Department for International Development (DfiD) has also sent three humanitarian experts from the UK to the Caribbean to provide assistance.
"It's going to be the strongest hurricane ever to cross the Atlantic. I've no idea what to expect." Priti Patel, DfiD secretary, said: "Our staff are on standby, both in the UK and at post, to support any British people affected.
In the Bahamas, holidaymakers at luxury resorts were told they would be moved away from coastal areas to emergency shelters. "We urge British Nationals in the affected area to closely monitor and follow Foreign Office and local travel advice."
Bahamas Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said his government was flying residents out of the six islands in the south in what he called the largest storm evacuation in the country's history. Virgin Atlantic warned that any customers booked on flights to or from Antigua, Havana and Miami between Wednesday and Monday may need to rebook. The airline said it had cancelled a flight to Antigua on Thursday.
Newlyweds Paul and Lorraine Phipps were celebrating their two-week honeymoon at a Sandals resort on the archipelago as forecasters raised Irma's classification. San Juan airport, the busiest in Puerto Rico, has cancelled about 40% of its flights in response to the hurricane.
Mr Phipps, from Essex, said: "With the Bahamas being laid back there is no panic on the resort, the resort management team are meeting daily to discuss contingencies and will communicate once decisions have been made. Thomas Cook has postponed two flights from Manchester for 24 hours - one going to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic on Thursday, and a flight travelling to Cuban airport Vardadero on Friday.
"During the hurricane we will either be moved to a building away from the beach front or moved to a centre downtown."
Are you in the region? If you are a holidaymaker unable to get a flight home or a resident who has been preparing for Hurricane Irma share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.Are you in the region? If you are a holidaymaker unable to get a flight home or a resident who has been preparing for Hurricane Irma share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.
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