Subscribe Login
Jamaica Observer
ePaper
The Edge 105 FM Radio Fyah 105 FM
Jamaica Observer
ePaper
The Edge 105 FM Radio Fyah 105 FM
    • Home
    • News
      • Latest News
      • Cartoon
      • International News
      • Central
      • North & East
      • Western
      • Environment
      • Health
      • #
    • Business
      • Business Bites
      • Social Love
    • Sports
      • Football
      • Basketball
      • Cricket
      • Horse Racing
      • World Champs
      • Commonwealth Games
      • FIFA World Cup
      • Olympics
      • #
    • Videos
    • Entertainment
      • Music
      • Movies
      • Art & Culture
      • Bookends
      • #
    • Lifestyle
      • Page2
      • Food
      • Tuesday Style
      • Food Awards
      • JOL Takes Style Out
      • Design Week JA
      • Black Friday
      • #
    • All Woman
      • Home
      • Relationships
      • Features
      • Fashion
      • Fitness
      • Rights
      • Parenting
      • Advice
      • #
    • Obits
    • Classifieds
      • Employment
      • Property
      • Motor Vehicles
      • Place an Ad
      • Obituaries
    • More
      • Games
      • Elections
      • Jobs & Careers
      • Study Centre
      • Jnr Study Centre
      • Letters
      • Columns
      • Advertorial
      • Editorial
      • Supplements
      • Webinars
    • Home
    • News
      • Latest News
      • Cartoon
      • International News
      • Central
      • North & East
      • Western
      • Environment
      • Health
      • #
    • Business
      • Business Bites
      • Social Love
    • Sports
      • Football
      • Basketball
      • Cricket
      • Horse Racing
      • World Champs
      • Commonwealth Games
      • FIFA World Cup
      • Olympics
      • #
    • Videos
    • Entertainment
      • Music
      • Movies
      • Art & Culture
      • Bookends
      • #
    • Lifestyle
      • Page2
      • Food
      • Tuesday Style
      • Food Awards
      • JOL Takes Style Out
      • Design Week JA
      • Black Friday
      • #
    • All Woman
      • Home
      • Relationships
      • Features
      • Fashion
      • Fitness
      • Rights
      • Parenting
      • Advice
      • #
    • Obits
    • Classifieds
      • Employment
      • Property
      • Motor Vehicles
      • Place an Ad
      • Obituaries
    • More
      • Games
      • Elections
      • Jobs & Careers
      • Study Centre
      • Jnr Study Centre
      • Letters
      • Columns
      • Advertorial
      • Editorial
      • Supplements
      • Webinars
  • Home
  • News
    • International News
  • Latest
  • Business
    • Business Bites
  • Cartoon
  • Games
  • Food Awards
  • Health
  • Entertainment
    • Bookends
  • Regional
  • Sports
    • Sports
    • World Cup
    • World Champs
    • Olympics
  • Videos
  • Career & Education
  • Classifieds
  • All Woman
  • Environment
  • Webinars
  • More
    • Football
    • Elections
    • Letters
    • Advertorial
    • Columns
    • Editorial
    • Supplements
  • Epaper
  • Design Week
#Irma on track to be costliest Atlantic storm ever; 1.2m people ‘battered’
This handout picture released on the Twitter account of Anna Mazur on September 7, 2017 shows the damaged Casino Royale, on the Dutch Caribbean island of Sint Maarten, after the passage of Hurricane Irma.
Latest News, News
September 6, 2017

#Irma on track to be costliest Atlantic storm ever; 1.2m people ‘battered’

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Hurricane Irma could be the costliest storm ever to form in the Atlantic Ocean as it is on track to blast through some of the most expensive properties in Florida, a disaster analyst said Thursday.

Economic damage and losses for all locations hit by Irma could total US$120 billion, if current projections for the storm’s path hold true, according to a disaster modelling firm tracking its progress.

Chuck Watson of Enki Research told AFP that with the storm bearing down like a buzz saw on the Miami, West Palm Beach and Ft. Lauderdale — the richest areas of Florida — Irma could cause about US$100 billion in damage in the US alone.

“It’s a very scary number,” said Watson, whose estimates were varying by the hour.

“If you add everything in, it could be the most expensive Atlantic storm in history.”

In the US, the damage would far surpass the US$78 billion estimate for the devastation from Hurricane Harvey in Texas, and fall just behind Katrina’s US$118 billion cost.

The massive storm also could be a catastrophe for insurers, costing them “the equivalent of 20 years of premiums,” he said.

Watson said his damage estimates were subject to a high degree of uncertainty and a slight variation in the storm’s path could cut the amount in half.

But current path projected by the National Hurricane Center points to maximum damage.

“This was always the nightmare scenario of a Category Four or Five storm running right up that corridor,” he said. “There’s just so much high value property sitting right there on the ocean, practically.”

“It’s just a big fat target.”

Public and commercial insurance providers are still responding to Harvey, which ravaged the Houston area with torrential rain and floods at the end of August. However, flood damage is not generally covered by insurance.

Unlike Harvey, Irma was likely to cause most of its damage through wind, waves and storm surge and not flooding — meaning private insurers will face far higher liabilities than they did in Houston.

“Harvey was not a big problem for the private insurance industry but Irma is going to be a catastrophe for the private insurance industry,” Watson said.

– 1.2 million people ‘battered’ –

An estimated 1.2 million people have already been “battered” by Irma, a number that could surge to 26 million, the Red Cross said Thursday.

“Our worst fears have played out in Barbuda and elsewhere,” Walter Cotte, Americas director for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), said in a statement.

Irma — one of the most powerful Atlantic storms on record — has turned the Caribbean islands of Barbuda and St Martin into mountains of rubble.

The Geneva-based IFRC said that Irma “may have already battered an estimated 1.2 million people and poses a serious threat to millions more”.

The organisation specified that in the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Cuba “an estimated 26 million people could be exposed to destructive winds and torrential rain.”

An initial 600,000 Swiss francs (US$631,000 / 525,000 euros) in emergency funds have been released to help preparedness efforts in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, the Red Cross said.

“People across the Caribbean will need our help to withstand and then recover from this storm,” Cotte said. “We’re already preparing what could become a massive and multi-country response effort.”

Irma was packing maximum sustained winds of up to 185 mph (295 kph) as it followed a projected path that would see it hit the northern edges of the Dominican Republic and Haiti on Thursday, continuing past eastern Cuba before veering north for Florida.

A boy looks on in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, on September 7, 2017.
People walk through damage on September 7, 2017, in a sand-covered street of Marigot, near the Bay of Nettle, on the island of Saint-Martin in the northeast Caribbean, after the passage of Hurricane Irma.
People walk in the water while fishermen take their nets on Mapou River, in the Shada neighborhood, in Cap-Haitien on September 7, 2017, as Hurricane Irma approaches.

{"website":"website"}{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
img img
0 Comments · Make a comment

ALSO ON JAMAICA OBSERVER

JAMP calls for stronger Cabinet vetting following Wheatley IC report
Latest News, News
JAMP calls for stronger Cabinet vetting following Wheatley IC report
June 23, 2026
KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Jamaica Accountability Meter Portal (JAMP) is calling for urgent reforms to the process used to vet Cabinet appointees, arguin...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer", "breaking-news":"Push Notifications"}
Israel’s ‘deliberate targeting’ of children part of ongoing Gaza ‘genocide’ — UN probe
International News, Latest News
Israel’s ‘deliberate targeting’ of children part of ongoing Gaza ‘genocide’ — UN probe
June 23, 2026
Geneva, Switzerland (AFP) — Israel is deliberately targeting Palestinian children in what has become a key factor in an ongoing "genocide" in Gaza, Un...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
New Haven flooding will continue without Duhaney River works, warns Hylton
Latest News, News
New Haven flooding will continue without Duhaney River works, warns Hylton
June 23, 2026
ST ANDREW, Jamaica — St Andrew Western Member of Parliament Anthony Hylton says recurring flooding in the New Haven community will persist unless urge...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
Current allocations insufficient to meet constituency needs, says MP Gordon
Latest News, News
Current allocations insufficient to meet constituency needs, says MP Gordon
June 23, 2026
ST ANDREW, Jamaica — St Andrew East Central Member of Parliament Dennis Gordon says the challenges facing his constituency far exceed what can be addr...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
UN chief urges AI firms to ‘come clean’ over environmental footprint
International News, Latest News
UN chief urges AI firms to ‘come clean’ over environmental footprint
June 23, 2026
PARIS, France (AFP) — United Nations (UN) chief Antonio Guterres challenged artificial intelligence (AI) firms on Tuesday to disclose their growing en...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
India startup head Kunal Shah appointed as new WhatsApp boss
International News, Latest News
India startup head Kunal Shah appointed as new WhatsApp boss
June 23, 2026
MUMBAI, India (AFP) — Meta has tapped Indian fintech founder Kunal Shah to be the new head of WhatsApp, as the United States (US) tech giant seeks way...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
Schools plan to close as UK braces for record-breaking heatwave
International News, Latest News
Schools plan to close as UK braces for record-breaking heatwave
June 23, 2026
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Multiple schools in England were shutting early Tuesday and set to remain closed for two more days with a heatwave expe...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
Heineken names new CEO after predecessor’s shock departure
International News, Latest News
Heineken names new CEO after predecessor’s shock departure
June 23, 2026
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AFP) — Dutch brewer Heineken said Tuesday that it had picked Rafael Oliveira, formerly of the coffee giant JDE Peet's, to take...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
❮ ❯

Polls

HOUSE RULES

  1. We welcome reader comments on the top stories of the day. Some comments may be republished on the website or in the newspaper; email addresses will not be published.
  2. Please understand that comments are moderated and it is not always possible to publish all that have been submitted. We will, however, try to publish comments that are representative of all received.
  3. We ask that comments are civil and free of libellous or hateful material. Also please stick to the topic under discussion.
  4. Please do not write in block capitals since this makes your comment hard to read.
  5. Please don't use the comments to advertise. However, our advertising department can be more than accommodating if emailed: advertising@jamaicaobserver.com.
  6. If readers wish to report offensive comments, suggest a correction or share a story then please email: community@jamaicaobserver.com.
  7. Lastly, read our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy

Recent Posts

Archives

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Tweets

Polls

Recent Posts

Archives

Logo Jamaica Observer
Breaking news from the premier Jamaican newspaper, the Jamaica Observer. Follow Jamaican news online for free and stay informed on what's happening in the Caribbean
Featured Tags
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Health
  • Auto
  • Business
  • Letters
  • Page2
  • Football
Categories
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Entertainment
  • Page2
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Entertainment
  • Page2
Ads
img
Jamaica Observer, © All Rights Reserved
  • Home
  • Contact Us
  • RSS Feeds
  • Feedback
  • Privacy Policy
  • Editorial Code of Conduct