#HurricaneIrma leaves 1M people in Puerto Rico without power: Destroys 90% of Barbuda

More than 1 million Puerto Ricans were cut off from power and communications Thursday as the monster Hurricane Irma skirted the island and moved on toward the Dominican Republic.

A large portion of the U.S. territory could be dark for as long as four to six months, said officials speaking for the commonwealth's electric utility. At least 60,000 people on the island were without safe drinking water, which is largely dependent on Puerto Rico’s electric supply. In total, the Category 5 storm has killed at least 10 people during its rampage through the Caribbean, though officials fear the toll will likely increase sharply as crews sort through the rubble.

Hurricane Irma has done catastrophic damage to “90 percent of Barbuda,” according to Gaston Browne, the prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda, after it barreled past the island nation and through the Caribbean on Wednesday. An official from the country’s Office of Disaster Services told ABC News said there was “widespread damage” across the island, which is home to 1,600 people. Authorities in St. Martin said 95 percent of the French part of the island was destroyed, with one local official saying the storm caused an “enormous catastrophe.” Irma made landfall as a Category 5 hurricane with sustained winds above 185 mph, and is expected to hit Florida on Saturday night.