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

The image of Irma taken from the International Space Station (Randy Bresnik)

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.

:: Follow the latest updates on Hurricane Irma here

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.