Fol­low­ing dev­as­tat­ing Har­vey that hit Texas and Louisiana comes news of Hur­ri­cane Irma that has tracked through the Caribbean and reached Cat­e­go­ry 5.

Prepa­ra­tions have been made for the weath­er sys­tem that is like­ly hit South Flori­da with cat­a­stroph­ic winds and floods.

The Nation­al Hur­ri­cane Cen­tre ear­li­er issued warn­ings for the US Vir­gin Islands, Puer­to Rico, and the Domini­can Republic.

IARU Region 2 Emer­gency Coor­di­na­tor Cesar Pio San­tos HR2P says a num­ber of emer­gency fre­quen­cies includ­ing the Hur­ri­cane Watch Net are on 80m, 40m, and 20m.

The Nation­al Hur­ri­cane Cen­tre report­ed Hur­ri­cane Irma has winds up to 295 km/h. Describ­ing Irma as pos­si­bly the most pow­er­ful Atlantic Ocean hur­ri­cane, greater than last month’s Hur­ri­cane Har­vey, and even pos­si­bly sur­pass­ing Hur­ri­cane Kat­ri­na of 2005.

Mean­while, parts of India, Bangladash, Myma­mar and Nepal are flood­ed by heavy mon­soon­al rains, with radio ama­teurs known to have been pro­vid­ing emer­gency communications.

– Jim Lin­ton VK3PC, Chair­man IARU Region 3 Dis­as­ter Com­mu­ni­ca­tions Committee