Hurricane ripping through Caribbean, flattens Barbuda

Hurricane Irma has ploughed past the Dominican Republic towards Haiti after devastating a string of Caribbean islands and killing at least 10 people. One of the most powerful Atlantic storms in at least a century, it appears ultimately headed towards the state of Florida in the United States. The storm has lashed several small islands in the north-east Caribbean, including Barbuda, Saint Martin and the British Virgin Islands, causing widespread devastation.

A man in Puerto Rico beside his damaged house Source: AAP