Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Irma: Astronaut's extraordinary photos from space show colossal scale of hurricane

Randy Bresnik is tracking historic Atlantic storm's progress from the International Space Station

Sally Hayden
Sunday 10 September 2017 15:07 BST
Comments
The image of Irma taken from the International Space Station
The image of Irma taken from the International Space Station (Randy Bresnik)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

An astronaut is sharing pictures showing the magnitude of Hurricane Irma, the fierce Atlantic storm which has devastated parts of the Caribbean and is bearing down on Florida.

Randy Bresnik has been able to track Irma's progress from the International Space Station. His pictures, posted on Twitter, show the scale of the hurricane and the impact it has already had on areas including the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

The hurricane reached Florida on Sunday morning. State authorities urged millions to evacuate, with Governor Rick Scott calling it a "killer storm".

At least 23 people have already died in the Caribbean as a result of Irma.

Donald Trump called Irma a storm of "enormous destructive potential" and encouraged residents to leave their homes by saying "property is replaceable but lives are not".

Mr Bresnik commented on changes already visible along the path the hurricane took through the Caribbean. In his tweets he described the "churned up" sands of the Turks and Caicos Islands and said the US Virgin Islands are "reeling" in the aftermath.

He also warned that Hurricane Jose was following a similar path to Irma. "May it veer north and east away from those so affected by Irma’s wrath already," he tweeted.

Mr Bresnik's current space mission began in July. On 31 August, he posted pictures of his own hometown Houston, Texas, saying it was "forever changed" by Hurricane Harvey.

"God bless all those from Houston or elsewhere who are helping our fellow Texans in their time of need," the astronaut tweeted.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in