Hurricane Irma is heading full speed for the Caribbean in what could be a worrying few days ahead for the Atlantic islands.

On Tuesday, islanders were making last-minute preparations for what could be the most powerful storm in history, with stunning images showing its size and scale.

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The category five hurricane, the highest possible level, has already sustained wind speeds of 300km/h (185mph).

BBC Weather reporter, Simon King, told Breakfast that the storm is currently the size of France.

All is calm! The eye of #Irma is still right over Barbuda (unless the anemometer broke with the gusts of 155mph). Wait and see... pic.twitter.com/u2fqwlPOtY

- Simon King (@SimonOKing) September 6, 2017

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Scientists, according to the Daily Mail, started picking up background noise from the storm on their earthquake-detecting seismometers.

It has already started to hit the Leeward Islands, and will move on towards Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.

It hit the island of the Barbuda, which has a population of around 2,000 people, shortly after 01:00 local time (05:00 GMT).

Hurricane Irma

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Credit: PA

Winds were recorded at 250km/h before the recording equipment broke and no further readings were received.

The Bahamas is planning the 'large evacuation in its history', according to the country's Prime Minister, Hubert Minnis.

Hurricane #Irma is maintaining it's strength with maximum sustained winds of 185 MPH. The eye is approaching the island of Barbuda. #GOES16 pic.twitter.com/85fHMLVr5H

- NASA SPoRT (@NASA_SPoRT) September 6, 2017

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Florida's governor, Rick Scott, has declared an emergency for all 67 counties in the south-east state of America.

He said: 'Hurricane Irma is a major and life-threatening storm and Florida must be prepared. I have continued to be briefed by the Florida Division of Emergency Management on Hurricane Irma and current forecast models have Florida in Irma's path - potentially impacting millions of Floridians

Authorities have warned that the storm could dump up to 10 inches of rain, cause landslides and flash floods, as well as generating waves up to 23 feet in height.

Puerto Rico's governor, Ricardo Rossello, added: "The decision that we make in the next couple of hours can make the difference between life and death. This is an extremely dangerous storm."

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Irma has resulted in many shops being left bare as many customers stock pile their goods and leave shelves empty.

Credit: PA

Credit: PA

The storm comes just days after Hurricane Harvey destroyed homes and lives in Texas, US.

Harvey was labelled as one of the worst storms to hit the United States in a decade, and carried winds of up to 130mph (209km/h).

It hit the mainland as a category four, knocking electricity out to about 300,000 people, with hundreds seeking shelter in community centres.