Hurricane Irma is devastating the Caribbean: Barbuda, St. Martin, and Anguilla have been hit so far

NOAA

Hurricane Irma barreling toward the Eastern Caribbean, captured by satellite on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2017.

Hurricane Irma, the most powerful Atlantic hurricane in recorded history, slammed several Caribbean islands with Category 5 storm winds early Wednesday, leaving a path of destruction that we're just beginning to to be able to see.

So far, Barbuda, Anguilla, St. Martin, and St. Barts have all taken direct hits from the storm.

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Around 1:47 a.m. ET Wednesday, Irma first made landfall in Barbuda, a flat island with a population of approximately 1,600. Local weather stations captured wind gusts of 155 mph before going silent, indicating the instruments had been blown away - Irma's sustained winds have been reported at 185 mph, with gusts above 215 mph.

Phones lines were down and major damage has been reported. According to the Associated Press, winds tore the roof off the island's police station.

By around 8 a.m. ET or shortly after, the eyewall of the storm reached Anguilla, St. Martin, and St. Barts, causing widespread severe damage, as photos and videos from those islands and others nearby show.

Hurricane Irma is currently headed towards Puerto Rico, according to the latest update from the National Hurricane Center. There, the storm could directly hit San Juan, a city of 2.6 million people.

After that, the latest forecast shows the storm potentially hitting South Florida or traveling up the east coast of the state, though still with a wide enough cone to affect both Florida coasts.