00:00 With wind speeds of over 185 miles per hour, Hurricane Irma is the most powerful Category
00:05 5 hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean.
00:08 And it's beginning its path of destruction.
00:10 Welcome back to What's Trending, I'm Shira Lazar.
00:12 Be sure to click LIKE on this video and SUBSCRIBE for more.
00:15 Just two weeks after Hurricane Harvey hit Texas, Hurricane Irma is set to be much worse.
00:20 Harvey grew into Category 4 hurricane when it made landfall in Texas with winds of 130
00:25 miles per hour.
00:26 Irma is already a Category 5 hurricane, currently on the path through the Caribbean to Florida.
00:31 But what is really the difference between a Category 4 and a Category 5 hurricane?
00:35 Besides the fact that it just seems much f*cking worse.
00:38 UN Climate Action tweeted this animation showing the escalation of damage from a Category 1
00:42 storm up to Category 5.
00:45 Damage from a Category 5 means that a region might be uninhabitable for weeks or months
00:49 after.
00:50 Irma's wind speed is now the second most powerful wind speed ever recorded.
00:54 Irma has already hit islands in the Caribbean such as St. Martin and St. Barts.
00:58 Storms and coastal flooding have destroyed many homes and buildings already.
01:01 Irma is the first Category 5 to make landfall on many of these islands since records began
01:05 and is now bearing down on Puerto Rico.
01:08 Irma is not only more powerful than Harvey, it's gigantic.
01:12 According to the BBC, Irma is currently the size of the state of Ohio.
01:15 Irma also could be downgraded to a Category 4 by the time it arrives in Florida, but the
01:19 scale of damage it wreaks in its path is yet to be seen.
01:22 Remember, Harvey was a Category 4 when it directly hit Houston.
01:26 The storm dumped nearly 52 inches of rain on Houston, almost 3 feet more rain than Hurricane
01:31 Katrina.
01:32 The rain was literally off the scales as the National Weather Service tweets, "So much
01:35 rain has fallen we've had to update the color charts on our graphics in order to effectively
01:40 map it."
01:41 And the city of Houston was right in the middle of that record-breaking rain.
01:44 While it's very unclear where Irma will go, forecasters are saying that it might hit Miami
01:49 this Sunday.
01:50 There's no official evacuation order yet, but some are already taking precautions.
01:54 Floridians have been stocking up on food, supplies, and drinking water.
01:58 More than a few Florida residents have been helped by Irma.
02:01 Not Hurricane Irma, this Irma.
02:03 Michelle Kauffman tweets, "@publics prepping for Irma.
02:05 Check out grocery bagger's name.
02:07 What are the odds?
02:08 She assured me not all Irmas are bad."
02:10 That is so cute.
02:11 Please stay safe during Irma.
02:14 One person who decided to weather the storm at home is mega billionaire Richard Branson.
02:19 Virgin CEO Richard Branson is weathering Irma at his private island getaway Necker Island.
02:24 Branson along with some guests have prepared the home to weather the hurricane, as he's
02:28 done before.
02:29 Before hitting the Virgin Islands, Branson tweeted his plan for dealing with the storm.
02:33 Expecting full force of Hurricane Irma in about 4 hours, we'll retreat to a concrete
02:37 wine cellar under the house.
02:39 What's more useful during a catastrophic flood than a basement full of alcohol?
02:44 So are you in the path of the storm?
02:45 What do you do to stay safe?
02:46 Let us know in the comments below.
02:48 One Twitter user noticed that people were trying to take advantage of people fleeing
02:51 the storm.
02:52 Lee Dow tweets, "Shame on you Delta jacking from $547 to over $3200 for people trying
02:58 to evacuate responsibly.
02:59 Amazon has also been called out for surge price bottled water due to high demand.
03:04 Packs of bottled water that cost less than $4 are selling for $20-$30."
03:08 And if you think that Irma is the last big hurrah of hurricane season, well you are wrong.
03:13 Right behind Irma is tropical storm Jose, which is expected to become a hurricane in
03:17 a matter of days. For more stories go to whatstrending.com. Stay safe.
