(CNN) Hurricane Irma regained Category 5 status late Friday as the core of the storm made landfall in Cuba with maximum sustained winds of 160 mph, the US National Hurricane Center said.

Irma made landfall on the Camaguey archipelago of Cuba, the center said late Friday night.

The massive storm edged closer to US landfall in the Florida Keys after leaving a trail of devastation and death in much of the Caribbean as it advanced toward South Florida.

Forecasters with the National Hurricane Center say the storm's wind speeds will increase after Irma passes Cuba then slips into the extremely warm waters near the Keys.

"Nowhere in the Florida Keys will be safe," the National Weather Service tweeted.

***THIS IS AS REAL AS IT GETS***



***NOWHERE IN THE FLORIDA KEYS WILL BE SAFE***



***YOU STILL HAVE TIME TO EVACUATE***



Please RT. #Irma pic.twitter.com/VWLMEDWoUs — NWS Key West (@NWSKeyWest) September 8, 2017

There were worries the storm's most powerful winds, on the northeastern side of the core, could pummel Miami, but it appears the city will avoid a direct hit, while still getting pounded by strong winds, storm surge and heavy rains.

At least 24 people were killed this week when Irma pummeled northern Caribbean islands such as Barbuda and the Virgin Islands. In Puerto Rico , hundreds of thousands of people -- nearly 70% of the US territory's utility customers -- were left without power, the governor's office said.

Irma slammed the Turks and Caicos, and southeastern Bahamas early before it was off to pound northern Cuba and the central Bahamas.

Irma is expected be near the Florida Keys and South Florida by early Sunday, and many residents there have moved inland or to shelters. Many counties are under evacuation orders.

"If you have been ordered to evacuate, leave now. Not tonight, not in an hour, now," Gov. Rick Scott said Friday night. Staying in homes could subject residents to storm surge as high as 12 feet, the governor added.

Forecasters have advised that the storm's potential path could change and residents should realize that most of Florida will feel its impact.

Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean Carmelo Mota, a builder, searches for tools in his destroyed home in Charlotte Amalie, US Virgin Islands, on Monday, September 18. Hurricane Irma devastated the US territory and other Caribbean islands in the region, leaving them exposed to new storms brewing in the Atlantic. Hide Caption 1 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean An aerial photo shows the devastation in Road Town, the capital of Tortola, the largest and most populated of the British Virgin Islands, on Wednesday, September 13. Hide Caption 2 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson talks to a resident of Anguilla during a visit on September 13. Hide Caption 3 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean People collect food that was delivered by emergency workers in the Sandy Ground area of Marigot, St. Martin, on Tuesday, September 12. Hide Caption 4 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean Buildings are destroyed in St. Martin on September 12. Hide Caption 5 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean French President Emmanuel Macron shakes hands with St. Martin residents during a visit to the island on September 12. Hide Caption 6 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean French soldiers patrol St. Martin on September 12. Hide Caption 7 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean A person works to clean up a street September 12 after Hurricane Irma flooded parts of Havana, Cuba. Hide Caption 8 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean A man makes repairs in Havana on September 12. Hide Caption 9 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean This Marigot church was among the buildings destroyed in the storm. Hide Caption 10 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean Cubans affected by Hurricane Irma line up to collect drinking water in Isabela de Sagua, Cuba, on Monday, September 11. Hide Caption 11 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean Dutch King Willem-Alexander, front right, tours damage in St. Maarten on September 11. Hide Caption 12 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean A palm tree sticks out of a pool on the French side of St. Martin on September 11. Hide Caption 13 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean A woman stands next to her water-logged belongings that had been laid out to dry in front of her home in Isabela de Sagua on September 11. Hide Caption 14 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean People line up for supplies in St. Martin on September 11. Hide Caption 15 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean The skeleton of a boat drifts in St. Martin's Simpson Bay on September 11. Hide Caption 16 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean People salvage material from the remains of a house in Isabela de Sagua on September 11. Hide Caption 17 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean Members of the British Army provide support on Tortola, one of the British Virgin Islands. Hide Caption 18 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean A woman carries a dog at an airport checkpoint in St. Martin on September 11. Hide Caption 19 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean People wade through a flooded street as a wave crashes in Havana on Sunday, September 10. Hide Caption 20 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean Two men search through the rubble of their St. Martin restaurant on September 10. Hide Caption 21 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean People make their way through debris in the Cojimar neighborhood of Havana on September 10. Hide Caption 22 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean People board a plane leaving St. Martin on September 10. Hide Caption 23 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean A man wades through a flooded street in Havana on September 10. Hide Caption 24 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean An overview of Havana shows flooded streets on Saturday, September 9. Hide Caption 25 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean A woman surveys flooding in Havana on September 9. Hide Caption 26 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean A boat rests in a cemetery after Irma tore through Marigot, St. Martin. Hide Caption 27 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean Residents return home after Irma passed through Caibarien, Cuba, on September 9. Hide Caption 28 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean A man walks in Caibarien on September 9. Hide Caption 29 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean A man carries a child through a flooded street in Fort-Liberte, Haiti, on Friday, September 8. Hide Caption 30 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean A man walks on a St. Martin street covered in debris on September 8. Hide Caption 31 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean A damaged home is tilted onto its side on the Puerto Rican island of Culebra on Thursday, September 7. Hide Caption 32 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean A home is surrounded by debris in Nagua, Dominican Republic, on September 7. Hide Caption 33 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean Irma damage is seen in St. Martin's Orient Bay on September 7. Hide Caption 34 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean Employees from an electrical company work to clear a fallen tree in Sanchez, Dominican Republic. Hide Caption 35 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean A woman makes her way through debris in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, on September 7. Hide Caption 36 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean In this image made from video, damaged houses are seen in St. Thomas on September 7. Hide Caption 37 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean The storm left widespread destruction on the island of Barbuda on September 7. Hide Caption 38 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean A flattened home is seen in Nagua, Dominican Republic, on September 7. Hide Caption 39 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean Nagua residents ride through an area affected by the storm on September 7. Hide Caption 40 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean Trash and debris is washed ashore in Cap-Haitien, Haiti, on September 7. Hide Caption 41 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean People walk through damage in Marigot, St. Martin, on September 7. Hide Caption 42 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean People survey damage in Marigot on September 7. Hide Caption 43 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean Bluebeard's Castle, a resort in St. Thomas, was hit hard by Irma. St. Thomas resident David Velez sent this photo to CNN on September 7. Hide Caption 44 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean Irma ruined these vehicles in St. Thomas. Hide Caption 45 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean Waves smash into St. Martin on Wednesday, September 6. Hide Caption 46 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean A man looks at a vehicle turned upside down in the British territory of Anguilla. Hide Caption 47 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean An aerial view of St. Martin on September 6. Hide Caption 48 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean Damaged cars are seen on a St. Martin beach on September 6. Hide Caption 49 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean A boat is washed onto shore in St. Martin. Hide Caption 50 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean Cars are piled up in Marigot on September 6. Hide Caption 51 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean A man walks past damaged buildings in St. Martin on September 6. Hide Caption 52 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean A car is flipped onto its side in Marigot. Hide Caption 53 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean Broken palm trees are scattered on a Marigot beach on September 6. Hide Caption 54 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean Irma floods a beach in Marigot on September 6. Hide Caption 55 of 55

At its peak, a then-Category 5 Irma sustained maximum wind speeds of at least 185 mph for longer (37 hours) than any storm on record. The Red Cross estimates 1.2 million people have been battered by the storm.

Here are the latest developments

-- Late Friday night, Irma's center was about 120 miles east of Caibarien, Cuba.

-- Conditions on the northern coast of Cuba deteriorated rapidly, CNN's Patrick Oppmann reported from Caibarien. As rain flew sideways, visibility plummeted and it was impossible to travel. Oppmann reported many Cubans evacuated but some were staying in their homes, protecting their belongings. Then an hour later, there was a break between the bands of rain and the trees stopped swaying.

-- Irma led to at least 24 deaths in the Caribbean, including nine in unspecified French territories, one on Barbuda, one at the British overseas territory of Anguilla, two in Dutch-administered St. Maarten, four in the British Virgin Islands, four on the US Virgin Islands, and three in Puerto Rico. Officials didn't specify which French Caribbean territories had nine deaths but earlier indicated some had been on the island of St. Martin.

-- The three deaths in Puerto Rico were at least loosely linked to Irma. One person died from a fall while being taken to a shelter; another was killed in a car crash; a third died of electrocution, the governor said.

-- In the British Virgin Islands, "roads are impassable, and there is currently no access to some areas," Gov. Gus Jaspert said.

CNN flew a drone over a neighborhood in Barbuda.

-- Hurricane warnings are in effect for parts of central Cuba, and the southeastern, central and northwestern Bahamas. Hurricane warnings also are in effect from Sebastian Inlet on the east coast, southward around the Florida Peninsula to Anna Maria Island on the panhandle. The warning includes the Florida Keys, Lake Okeechobee and Florida Bay.

-- The Red Cross said as many as 26 million people could be exposed to destructive winds and torrential rain just in the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Cuba.

-- Irma could overwhelm parts of the Bahamas, a nation of about 390,000, with storm surges of up to 20 feet -- well above the islands' elevation, CNN meteorologist Chad Myers said.

Men in Caibarien, Cuba, prepare Friday for the storm.

Florida and the Southeast prepare for Irma

The National Hurricane Center has warned Irma could make "landfall in Florida as a dangerous major hurricane, and will bring life-threatening wind impacts to much of the state regardless of the exact track of the center."

There could be storm surges up to 12 feet in coastal areas, which could "inundate so many low-level houses, especially on the Keys," Myers said.

US and European forecast models predict the eye could strike the Keys and then the Everglades, west of Miami, on Saturday night into Sunday morning.

"It's not a question of whether Florida is going to be impacted -- it's a question of how bad Florida is going to be impacted," Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Brock Long said, urging people to heed evacuation orders.

Though the core has the most power, Irma is huge; winds of at least tropical-storm force cover 70,000 square miles -- larger than the area of Florida (65,000 square miles). At some point this weekend, the entire state could see at least hurricane-force gusts of 74 mph and above, CNN's Myers said.

In Miami-Dade County alone, about 660,000 of its 2.6 million population have been asked to evacuate, Mayor Carlos Gimenez said.

Farther north, on Daytona Beach, Michael Hanna was itching to leave Friday morning but first had to board up his beach apparel store

"I stayed a little longer than anybody else so I can cover up my business," he said. "My kids are panicking; my wife, she's panicking. ... (Saturday) by 6 a.m., 7 a.m., we're going to be on the road, heading to Georgia."

Irma could cause power outages for weeks in parts of South Florida, and more than 4.1 million customers -- or 9 million people -- could be affected by outages at some point, Florida Power and Light Co. said. "Our crews will likely have to rebuild parts of the system," the utility said.

People settle into a shelter in Miami on Friday.

Evacuees stocked up on supplies, waited for hours at gas stations and sat through massive traffic jams.

People also flocked to South Florida airports, but schedules were in flux. More than half of Friday's flights were canceled at Miami International Airport, and "most of the airlines will suspend flights after (Friday) through Monday, depending on the condition of the airport," spokesman Greg Chin said.

Florida is not the only state preparing for possible impact. Long, the FEMA administrator, said people from Alabama to North Carolina should watch the storm.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster issued a mandatory evacuation for Saturday for some barrier islands.

Devastation to islands

Irma brought heavy rain and powerful winds to the low-lying Turks and Caicos Islands.

Residents of the islands, a British overseas territory with about 35,000 people, were told to stay put.

Desmond Piccolo Henry took shelter in his concrete home with his wife and a friend on one of the islands, Providenciales, as the storm rocked the area.

"It's a concrete house, but trust me, it was shaking. My friend was saying, 'Oh my God, I think God is coming, why are we going through this?' "

Henry's home survived with just a few shingles lost, but people have told him that roofs were torn off nearby and debris crushed some cars. Video he posted to Facebook showed downed tree limbs and other destruction.

The capital island of Grand Turk suffered "quite a bit of damage," including to part of a hospital's roof, Gov. John Freeman told CNN.

After Irma, Hurricane Jose looms

The Caribbean islands already pummeled by Irma have begun assessing the damage, finding shredded buildings, battered cars and streets submerged in water.

Barbuda, one of two major islands in the nation of Antigua and Barbuda, is barely habitable, with about 95% of its buildings damaged, Prime Minister Gaston Browne said.

Browne estimated the damage will cost $100 million to fix on the island of 1,800 residents.

"It looks like (a) garbage disposal," Marlon Carr, a photographer who toured the island with Browne, told CNN on Thursday. "There was rubble and roof galvanized all over the island. It looked like some of the houses ... were imploded on."

An aerial image over Barbuda on Thursday shows the devastation from Hurricane Irma.

Irma's eye passed directly over Barbuda on Wednesday, and now the northeastern Caribbean nation is anxiously watching Hurricane Jose to the east, which has strengthened to a Category 4 storm.

Anguilla, Barbuda, St. Martin and St. Barts are under a hurricane warning for Jose , which could pass close to those islands Saturday. The government called for voluntary evacuations from Barbuda, Browne said.

Irma also badly hit St. Martin with about 50 people reported injured.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte described the looting situation in St. Maarten, the Dutch portion of the island, as serious, a spokesman for his office said Friday.

The government said emergency flights delivering water and other supplies to the island will be used to take residents and visitors off it.

A man walks up a street Friday on the island of St. Martin.

"Our worst fears have played out in Barbuda and elsewhere," said Walter Cotte, regional director for the Americas for the Red Cross. "We can't yet assess the full extent of damage, but we expect that the Red Cross will be delivering extensive support to many thousands over the coming weeks and months."

Are you affected by Irma? Text, iMessage or WhatsApp your videos, photos and stories to CNN: +1 347-322-0415.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story gave incorrect peak wind speeds for Hurricane Irma. At its strongest, sustained winds reached 185 mph.