At least eight dead including toddler as Hurricane Irma hits Caribbean
At least eight people have died and 23 others injured after Hurricane Irma ripped through the Caribbean islands, according to France's interior minister.
A two-year-old child is reportedly among the dead.
One of the most powerful Atlantic storms in a century, Irma wreaked havoc on the region, including French island territories such as St Martin and St Barts.
Nearly every building in Barbuda was damaged as the eye of the storm passed overhead leaving 1,400 people homeless.
"Either they were totally demolished or they would have lost their roof," Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne said.
Another 900,000 were left without power in nearby Puerto Rico.
Video report by ITV News Correspondent Neil Connery
Hurricane Irma was upgraded to a Category Five storm as it picked up wind speeds of up to 200 mph.
States of emergency have been declared across Florida, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands as the "potentially catastrophic" hurricane barrelled towards them.
Authorities have cancelled flights, closed schools, and warned people to batten down in their homes ahead of the storm.
Aid workers have described the desperate efforts to evacuate Haiti and the Dominican Republic before Hurricane Irma strikes.
Irma is expected to hit the Dominican Republic on Thursday before moving across Haiti and towards the US coast.
It is set to hit Florida making landfall in the south on Saturday.
However, the exact path of the storm may change as it passes through the ocean.
The Foreign Office has urged Britons affected by the hurricane to follow evacuation orders after Irma sustained winds of 180mph for a longer period than any other Atlantic storm on record.
A British naval ship has been deployed to help deal with the aftermath of the storm with 40 Royal Marines on board, as well as army engineers and equipment.
Shelves were empty as people stocked up as they waited for the storm to pass.
Earlier, the eye of the storm passed over the British Virgin Islands.
Billionaire Virgin boss Richard Branson decided to remain on Necker, his private Caribbean island, and brave the storm with his staff and family.
He said they would be seeking shelter in his concrete wine cellar.
As the storm passed, his son Sam said that those who had remained on Necker had escaped harm.
"Glad to say that all humans on Necker are ok although a lot of buildings destroyed.
"Please don't take this hurricane lightly if it is heading your way. If your building is not very solid, do find somewhere safe! Homes can be rebuilt but lives can't."
Residents in the path of the storm have been rushing to stock up on food and water, with supermarkets and gas stations seeing queues to get in.
The US National National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has sent several research planes into the hurricane to gather data on its strength and likely route.
In the Caribbean, hurricane warnings were issued for 12 island groups, including Antigua, where the governor urged people to evacuate the tiny island of Anegada if they could ahead of the storm.
Residents on the US East Coast were urged to monitor the storm's progress in case it should turn northward toward Florida, Georgia or the Carolinas.
"This hurricane has the potential to be a major event for the East Coast," said Evan Myers, chief operating officer of weather forecaster AccuWeather.
It will add to pressure on emergency services in the US, who are still battling to cope with the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in Texas.
The House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly in favour of a $7.9 billion aid package for Harvey victims on Wednesday afternoon as US disaster reserves dwindle
President, Donald Trump said Hurricane Irma looks like "something that could be not good."
A new tropical storm has also formed in the Atlantic on Tuesday, to the east of Irma.
The hurricane centre said Tropical Storm Jose is about 1,500 miles east of the Lesser Antilles with maximum sustained winds of 40mph.
It is moving west-north-west at 13mph and is expected to become a hurricane by Friday.