Irma path: Track the destructive hurricane live as it moves towards Florida

The deadly hurricane has broken several meteorological records

Juan Negron (AP)

Deadly Hurricane Irma has broken meteorological records for being the strongest storm ever seen in the Atlantic Ocean.

So far, it has killed 14 people and devastated islands in the Caribbean. One resident of Anguilla, barrister Josephine Gumbs-Conner, said the damage was similar to a "nuclear bomb".

Follow live updates on Hurricane Irma

It has shown up on equipment designed to monitor earthquakes - and became the first storm on record to maintain wind speeds of 185mph for so long, according to the French weather service.

Expert Kerry Emanuel, of MIT, claimed the storm holds about twice the destructive energy of all bombs used in the Second World War.

On Friday morning the storm was heading for the Bahamas, before moving to Florida. Residents are evacuating en masse to prepare for the devastation.

Follow the path of the storm live here:

The state's governor, Rick Scott, told residents: "Do not try to ride out this storm ... we can't save you once the storm hits."