Hurricane Irma body count to rise as Tsunami-height 20ft waves hit Turks in HOURS

HURRICANE Irma will bring a catastrophic TSUNAMI to the British territory Turks and Caicos and the Bahamas in hours with 20-foot waves hitting Nassau and the entire east of the islands later tonight.

PUBLISHED: 16:58, Thu, Sep 7, 2017 | UPDATED: 17:18, Thu, Sep 7, 2017

EPA • AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Hurricane Irma will bring a catastrophic Tsunami to the British territory tiny

group of islands and bigger neighbour Bahamas face the most brutal assault from Hurricane Irma so far from super powerful 20 foot high waves.

So far the islands struck by Irma, including Antigua and Barbuda, St Barts and St Kitts, have faced catastrophic damage from hyper-powerful winds – but wave damage has been relatively light as waves have only measured four to six feet.

But as Hurricane Irma veers slightly east, and strengthens ever more thanks to extra atmospheric moisture and warmer oceans, Bahamas, and Turks and Caicos face severe wave damage.

Although not technically a tsunami, as it is not driven by tectonic plate slippage, experts fear the 20 foot high waves will inevitably lead to major loss of life.

In the USA most hurricane deaths are from drowning – most often motorists attempting to escape the killer weather.

CNN weather anchor Tom Sater said: “A six-foot storm surge becomes a 20-foot storm surge as Irma hits the quadrant which includes Turks and Caicos and Bahamas.

“This is simply a once in a generation hurricane.”

AFP/GETTY IMAGES

The tiny group of islands face the most brutal assault from Hurricane Irma

This is simply a once in a generation hurricane

A spokesman for Weather.com added: “At this intensity, small deviations in wind speed will not change impacts. A direct hit will be catastrophic.

“Irma will track just north of the Dominican Republic and Haiti on Thursday and will be near the Turks and Caicos and southeastern Bahamas by Thursday evening.

“Hurricane warnings have been issued for parts of the northern coast of the Dominican Republic and Haiti, the southeastern, central and northwestern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

“Additionally, a tropical storm warning is in effect for the southern coast of the Dominican Republic from Cabo Engano westward to the border with Haiti and for the coast of Haiti from south of Le Mole St. Nicholas to Port-Au-Prince. A tropical storm warning is also in effect for the Cuban provinces of Guantanamo, Holguin and Las Tunas.

Hurricane Irma: Sinister satellite images show the fury of Irma

Satellite image shows the incredible size and fury of Hurricane Irma

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Hurricane Irma at 11:30 UTC on September 7, 2017

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Hurricane Irma at 11:30 UTC on September 7, 2017

“A hurricane watch is also in effect Cuba from Matanzas Province eastward to Guantanamo Province and the northwestern Bahamas.”

Hurricane Irma’s path is expected to take the following trajectory:

Dominican Republic/Haiti: Thursday; tropical storm force winds will spread across the Dominican Republic during the morning and midday Thursday in Haiti

Turks and Caicos: Late Thursday-Friday

Bahamas: Friday-this weekend; tropical storm force winds may arrive as early as late Thursday

Cuba: Friday-this weekend; tropical storm force winds will arrive as early as Thursday night