Barbuda Pictures And Videos Show Hurricane Irma Aftermath

The small Caribbean island of Barbuda was left utterly destroyed after Hurricane Irma, one of the most powerful storms in history, swept through the tiny island earlier this week. The Category 5 storm brought with it 185 mph winds to the island of 2,000 people.

Barbuda was left "barely habitable" by the storm, Prime Minister Gaston Browne said. One fatality was recorded, according to initial reports. Almost every structure on the island was damaged, while more than 60 percent of the population was left homeless. Browne estimated it would cost $100 million to rebuild.

"Barbuda is literally a rubble," Browne told the Washington Post Thursday. "It was emotionally painful. It was sad to see such beautiful country being destroyed over a couple of hours."

Initial images from Barbuda showed a devastated landscape: leveled structures and debris littered the entirety of the island. BBC's Laura Bicker, the first journalist to see the aftermath firsthand, posted jarring images from a flyover of the island. Bicker's photographs revealed a shattered landscape beneath a blue sky in the wake of the storm.

One photo showed how Irma's winds had snapped the reinforced steel of Barbuda's cell phone towers, effectively cutting communication to the entirety of the island. It took more than 12 hours after the storm hit for anyone to make outside contact with the island, reports said. The initial silence out of Barbuda in the aftermath of the storm had people around the world fearing the worst.

Little was left on the island in the days after Hurricane Irma, meaning there was no place left for residents to shelter, yet another storm was expected to barrel toward Barbuda in the coming days. Forecasts predicted Hurricane Jose, upgraded to a Category 5 storm Friday morning, was on its way to the island.

"We are very worried about Hurricane Jose," said Browne.

Officials aimed to get everyone off the island by Friday before Jose arrived. Barbudans were being evacuated to the neighboring island of Antigua, which fared far better in the storm.