Irma - as it happened: Florida Governor Scott says 'last chance to make a good decision' and evacuate or seek shelter
More than six million people ordered to evacuate Florida as storm moves towards western coast - but all of the state will see winds of 80mph and above
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Your support makes all the difference.Hurricane Irma is bearing down on Florida, after having wrought destruction in the Caribbean, killing at least 24 people.
Winds of up to 160mph smashed into Cuba's northern coast on Saturday hours after it was classified as a Category 5 storm.
Irma has now been downgraded to a Category 3, but is forecast to restrengthen once it moves away from Cuba, according to the US National Hurricane Centre.
Concerns are also mounting over Hurricane Jose, which is growing in strength and heading towards islands already devastated by Irma.
Florida is bracing for Irma to hit on Sunday morning. It is expected to bring massive wind and flooding damage to the fourth most populous US state.
Governor Rick Scott warned that Irma, the most powerful Atlantic Ocean hurricane in recorded history, is wider than the "entire state".
More than six million people - a quarter of the Florida's population - have been ordered to evacuate.
The Carolinas, Alabama and Georgia have also declared emergencies.
The storm, of "nuclear" ferocity, has already churned along a path through the Lesser Antilles, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Cuba.
Irma's eye passed directly over the island of Barbuda, meaning its inhabitants were twice subjected to the fastest winds.
Heavy rain and howling winds raked the neighbouring island of Antigua, sending debris flying as people huddled in their homes or government shelters.
Officials had warned people to seek protection from Irma's "onslaught" in a statement that closed with: "May God protect us all."
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said the UK was "taking swift action to respond" to the disaster after speaking to the chief minister of Anguilla, a British overseas territory that was among the first islands to be hit.
Britons in the region have been urged to follow evacuation orders, while states of emergency have been declared in Puerto Rico, Cuba and Florida - amid fears Miami could be struck directly by the hurricane.
A British naval ship has been deployed to help deal with the aftermath with 40 Royal Marines on board, as well as army engineers and equipment, as authorities struggle to bring aid to smaller islands.
Some had tried to plan ahead of the storm in Florida, but seemingly found themselves thwarted by delays to online deliveries.
Maya Kogul was in California when Hurricane Irma began twirling toward Florida. She knew stores would run out of key supplies before she got back to her downtown Miami home earlier this week, so she placed an order for three cases of water through a Nestle water delivery company. She waited and waited, but the order didn't come.
More than 50 Floridians told The Associated Press that they did not receive flashlights, battery-operated radios, boxed milk, water bottles and first-aid kits after placing orders on Amazon.com and Nestle's ReadyRefresh.
Amazon spokeswoman Amanda Ip said that deliveries were experiencing delays because of the weather conditions. ReadyRefresh posted an apology Friday on Twitter for service disruptions and delivery delays.
"It was frustrating having to run around last minute," said Kogul, a 31-year-old mother of a 2-year-old girl. "By delivery date it was already evacuation time. By the time I realized I wasn't getting the delivery, it was almost Thursday evening. I didn't know they were not going to come."
The National Weather Service says the first hurricane-force wind gust has been recorded in the Florida Keys as Irma inches closer to the state.
The weather service says the Smith Shoal Light station recorded a 74 mph (119 kph) wind gust on Saturday night.
The center of Irma is headed toward the Keys and has sustained winds of 120 mph (193.11 kph).
Here is the latest report from our reporter, Clark Mindock, in Miami. It involves tornadoes, people deciding where to evacuate as Irma veers west, and those that choice to sit at a bar rather than leave...
With that, we are going to end our coverage of Hurricane Irma - and Jose - for now. Thanks for reading, and join us in the morning for the latest news with Irma set to get close to the Florida Keys ahead of potentially making landfall sometime on Sunday on Florida's western coast.
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