Videos Show Raw Power of Hurricane Irma From Space

Hurricane Irma, a record Category 5 storm, is seen in this NOAA National Weather Service National Hurricane Center image from GOES-16 satellite taken on Sept. 5, 2017. (Courtesy NOAA National Weather Service National Hurricane Center/Handout via REUTERS)

Several videos have captured the power of Hurricane Irma from space.

The storm was deemed Category 5 by the National Hurricane Center, and it is packing winds of 185 mph. The storm is forecast to hit the Leeward Islands, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Florida, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

And here are more:

NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration captured the footage via satellites before posting it on social media.

The last Category 5 hurricane to slam the United States was Hurricane Andrew that also hit the Bahamas and Florida in 1992.

Florida Governor Rick Scott said there would be more mandatory evacuations around the state as Irma approached and as surges were expected to reach 10 feet. “We can rebuild your home, we can’t rebuild your life,” Scott said on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

A member of the Emergency Operations Committee (COE) monitors the trajectory of Hurricane Irma in Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic on Sept. 5, 2017. (Reuters/Ricardo Rojas)

(NOAA)

Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Brock Long, speaking on the “CBS This Morning” program, said he was confident FEMA could handle Irma, even as he acknowledged potential staffing strains so soon after Hurricane Harvey struck Texas.

Reuters contributed to this report.