Powerful Hurricane Irma Approaches Florida

The intensity of Hurricane Irma has risen to a category four storm, nearing Florida, with maximum sustained winds of 130mph (209km/h).

According to Florida governor, wind gusts are battering islands in southern part of the state, with the mainland due to be hit in the coming hours.

Water levels are already rising on the coast of the US state where a huge storm surge is expected, the BBC reports.

And no fewer than 25 people died when Irma earlier hit several Caribbean islands.

In Florida, 6.3 million people – about 30% of the state’s population – had been told to evacuate.

But on Saturday, the state governor said it was now too late to leave for anyone remaining.

The National Hurricane Center has issued warnings against “life-threatening” storm surges in the Florida Keys – a chain of small islands in Florida’s south – as well as Tampa Bay and other coastal areas.

And according to utilities company Florida Power & Light, over 200,000 homes in Florida have been affected by power outages, with 164,000 outages in Miami Dade county alone.