Bahamas, Dominican Republic and Turks and Caicos brace for impact as Hurricane Irma powers on after laying waste to the Caribbean and killing ten islanders on her deadly path to the US

 Hurricane Irma started hammering Puerto Rico with 185mph winds and heavy rain late last night

The category 5 storm reduced Caribbean islands of Barbuda and St Martin to rubble with deadly destruction

Roughly 95%  of homes and properties were destroyed on both islands with Barbuda now 'barely habitable'

At least eight people died on the French part of St Martin, while a two-year-old child was killed in Barbuda

Some 900,000 people are without power on Puerto Rico and at least 50,000 people are without water

Irma was following projected path that would see it hit Dominican Republic, Turks and Caicos and Haiti today

The hurricane is expected to continue past eastern Cuba before veering north for Florida at the weekend

Red Cross said it is preparing for 'a major humanitarian response' as UN estimated 49million will be affected

Mandatory evacuations were ordered in the Florida Keys and parts of Miami as the scale of the storm emerged

The Bahamas, Dominican Republic and Turks and Caicos are bracing for impact today as Hurricane Irma powers on after laying waste to the Caribbean and killing ten islands on her deadly path to the US.

The category 5 storm - the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic - howled past Puerto Rico with 185mph winds after reducing the tiny tropical islands of Barbuda and St Martin to rubble.

They suffered the storm's full fury with 95 per cent of properties destroyed on both islands. Officials said at least eight people died on the French part of St Martin - a pristine resort known for its vibrant nightlife.

Barbuda suffered 'absolute devastation' and is 'barely habitable' with more than 90 per cent of dwellings completely destroyed, a child killed and 60 per cent of the population left homeless.

Meanwhile, residents on the British Overseas Territory of Anguilla said the island was 'utterly devastated' and looked as though it had 'suffered nuclear bomb devastation' while shocking videos have emerged showing the scale of the devastation in the British Virgin Islands.

The hurricane was expected to scrape the northern coast of the Dominican Republic and Haiti today and track near Turks and Caicos and southeastern Bahamas later. It is likely to be downgraded to a Category 4 storm by the time it makes landfall in Florida, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said on Thursday.

This morning, the United Nations said up to 49 million people are in the hurricane's path as aid agencies prepare for a 'major humanitarian response'. France, the Netherlands and Britain have sent water, emergency rations and rescue teams to their stricken territories.