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Michael Joseph, president of the Red Cross in Antigua and Barbuda, said that Barbuda was “decimated.”

“It’s uninhabitable. I would literally say that 100 per cent of the infrastructure is gone. Light, water, communication, it’s a total blackout,” said Joseph.

Photo by Johnny Jno-Baptiste/Getty images

There was only one fatality on the island — a 2-year-old boy identified Friday as Carl Junior Francis. He was found by neighbours Thursday, having been swept away by storm surge as Irma pounded the island the night prior, the Associated Press reported.

“It was a miracle that there was only one death,” Joseph said.

On Antigua, evacuees hunkered down, preparing for a possible hit on Saturday by Jose, a Category 4 storm packing 150-mph winds.

“People are worried, when they see images of Barbuda, that it could be Antigua next,” said Joseph.

In Anguilla, part of the British West Indies, Irma’s fury left homes and businesses shattered across the 16-mile island. Local officials pleaded with residents Friday to take all precautions ahead of Jose to ensure their survival, and they encouraged people to quickly clear all existing debris so it could be removed and battened down, as not to pose a threat during the next wave of dangerous weather.

With telecommunication services severed, police traveled the island’s neighbourhoods to relay what information they had about Jose, said Patrick Lynch, who operates Roy’s Bayside Grill. Reached via Facebook on Friday afternoon, Lynch told The Washington Post that he and his family were aware another storm was bearing down on Anguilla, but seemed unaware it had reached Category 4 strength.