you're watching bbc news. the headlines at 4. hurricane irma slams into the florida keys with winds up to 130 miles per hour. more than six million people have been ordered to leave their homes as the storm inches closer to the mainland. torrential rains causing floods gci’oss torrential rains causing floods across this region and that is on top of the deadly storm surge which is almost certainly going to happen. it is horrible. from the florida keys around the caribbean. this is the scene live in miami, described asa the scene live in miami, described as a ghost town, as the storm approaches. cuba was battered overnight. there's been "significa nt damage" and the recovery process is now beginning. in other news: officials in mexico say at least 90 people are now known to have died in thursday's earthquake.

tony blair calls for tougher immigration rules numbers without the need for brexit. sir mo farah becomes the first athlete to win the great north run four times in a row. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. after battering its way through the caribbean, hurricane irma — currently a category four storm — has slammed into the lower florida keys, lashing the island chain with winds up to 130 mph. the hurricane made landfall in cuba late on friday. it engulfed villages, causing widespread damage and leaving whole communities homeless. the eye of the storm has now

reached the florida keys, bringing extreme winds that are expected to last for the next few hours. all residents had been ordered to leave amid fears that a storm surge reaching 15 feet could hit the islands, most of which are only a few feet above sea level. one person has been confirmed dead in the florida keys. as the storm is expected to move north to mainland florida, more than a million homes and businesses are without power and some 50,000 people have taken refuge in shelters. that's as well as those who have left the state entirely. this report from sarah campbell. hurricane irma is bearing down on the sunshine state. these scenes, a mere indication of what is to come. power outages are already widespread and roads flooded. for those who haven't been able to leave, time has run out. we are talking of wind gusts over 100 miles an hour,

perhaps up to 130 miles an hour. this kind of wind can do tremendous amounts of damage to wood frame homes, trees, power lines and things. the other very deadly risk we have is storm surge flooding. most people who die in hurricanes do so from drowning in a storm surge. the people of cuba are already starting to count the cost of hurricane irma, which battered the island for hours before finally moving north. now a popular holiday destination, thousands of british tourists were stranded there. the airport is closed to all flights. 0perators including thomas cook have been criticised for not doing enough to help. it's a very unpredictable scenario. some of the airports are still closed, so we are taking each day as it comes. the next 2a hours is about looking after the welfare of our customers in cuba, and making sure our customers

in florida are well—prepared. the hurricane weakened slightly as it passed over cuba, but has strengthened once again on its approach to florida. british airways said it is in contact with its holiday—makers, and will send a plane to the region to pick up passengers as soon is it safe to do so. that may not be for some time. thousands of florida residents are packed into mass shelters. in all, 6 million people were advised to leave, making this one of the biggest evacuations in us history. and this is why. these pictures show what is left of some of the caribbean islands already hit by the hurricane. its destructive power is very clear. jane 0'brien is in miami for us. we are now getting gusts in excess

of 80 miles an hour, but that is nowhere near the porosity they are dealing with on the florida keys. they are experiencing sustained winds of 135 miles an hour. we are getting reports that the florida keys are flooding. the middle keys are flooding. they expect the storm surge... they expect a storm surge of around 15 feet plus tropical style rain, bands of torrential rain which create flood warnings across this region. the coastal areas, the florida keys are being clobbered from the sea and from the sky and it is very dangerous. we are experiencing lots of gusts and we're watching out for debris, talking to you. emergency services in miami are 110w you. emergency services in miami are now suspended. the authorities say, if you need help at this point you are basically on your own. it is too

dangerous for rescue workers to come out and help. we are still in the middle of tornado warnings. very dangerous because unlike irma who cannot predict tornadoes, you have no idea when it is going to touch down. so a lot to watch out for, as well as the difficulty that many people are experiencing because they are without power. more than half a million people and a lot of the city of miami are without power. we are 0k at the moment but things are likely to get worse. bbc weather presenter tomasz shafernaker is in the tampa bay area in florida which is expected to feel the full force in the next few hours. we are currently crossing old tampa bay and we are heading towards our shelter. we have been driving around florida for the last day, reporting on how people have been preparing for this storm. now the storm is affecting the west coast of florida. and the biggest concern is, of

course, the storm surge. it looks as though in the next few hours the eye of the storm will be approaching naples. it is currentlyjust about leaving the lower florida keys. it looks like key west was just about straight by the eye of the storm, which means it was in the most ferocious winds, because the worst of the where is around the eye of the storm. the store where i am currently is still quite far to the south. the weather has gone downhill. since i spoke to you last time, we arejust downhill. since i spoke to you last time, we are just crossing old tampa bay, over one of the causeways, and the wind certainly picking up. there are still some 12 hours until the worst the conditions, which will be brought by the storm. compared to the last hour, the visibility looks much worse. from where you were in the last hour. have you seen many people out on the roads? clearly, people out on the roads? clearly, people have been told to take

shelter, to stay put or leave florida altogether. you don't really see many cars. there are few. the storm is still half a day away. some people are still taking their chances. and they are leaving the area towards their shelter. but the main paying that we are seeing is lots of officers patrolling the area and they are taking shelter, the patrol officers, underneath different bridges. i'm not sure whether that is where they are going to ride out the storm, but we understand that when the winds reach tropical storm force, probably in the next two or three hours, they suspend some of their operations as it is too dangerous to go out, then they go out, if the winds do in fact drop because, in the build—up to the storm, the arrival of the centre, the core, there are occasionally brief laurels, so the wind picks up

to storm force, then they die down then they pick up a little bit and then they pick up a little bit and the hurricane kind of creeps in, so that these lulls become shorter, the winds start drawing up a constant speed and within two or three hours of the arrival of the eye of the storm the winds blow at constant hurricane force with bigger gusts, and that is when the damage occurs, so and that is when the damage occurs, so we're talking about a window of five, six hours as the eye of the storm moves through with the ferocious and loudest conditions. —— the most ferocious. miami has been described as a ghost town. many people in their the warnings to get away from the path of irma. around 6 million people arrived to leave their homes in the state of florida. as we look at these pictures from miami, let me tell you the latest lines coming from the national

hurricane center in the us, applying to florida more generally. it says that the eye of irma should move over the lower florida keys shortly. and then near all over the west coast of the florida peninsular later today, and through tonight. it says that hurricane irma is currently about 150 miles, 180 kilometres south, south of fort myers, with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph. then it says irma should move inland over northern florida and south—western georgia on monday afternoon, and we know that president trump has been speaking to the governors of some of those states like georgia, south carolina and so on, just to the north of florida, about the impact that it

might have on those states. the national hurricane center says the eventual weakening of irma is forecast. it is expected to remain a powerful hurricane whilst it moves near 01’ powerful hurricane whilst it moves near or longer west coast of florida. and one other like to add from the national weather service in the us, that a tornado watch is in operation for southern florida because it is fast moving tornadoes can develop with homing in hurricane rain bands. those are the latest lines coming to us from the united states. hurricane irma closes destruction on the grounds below. and one team in the sky flies right through the heart of the storm — providing valuable information which helps forecasters predict where it might go next. gary 0'donoghue has joined them on their latest mission. the hurricane hunters are heading out on another 12—hour mission, right into the heart of the hurricane. these air force reservists all have

dayjobs and they risk their lives to help save lives on the ground. steve is one of the pilots tonight. the more times we pass through the eye wall, the better they can tell exactly where the storm is moving. that doesn't mean it is the centre of the storm, that zero wind spot can be 20 or 30 miles towards one side or the other of the eye. this is one of the pieces of kit they use to measure the hurricane. it is called a drop sock. once it is out of the plane, it parachutes down to the sea, sending back data which then goes straight to the national hurricane centre, plotting irma's progress. it has been very big and strong for a very long time. it's horrible, some of the damage we have seen. after some negotiation with the cuban authorities about their airspace, we get permission for one more pass through the eye. it provides crucial information.

we are now right in the eye of hurricane irma, doing a final pass through the storm. the storm has definitely pivoted to the north as everyone predicted. as we turn for home, there is a sense of a good job well done. more information gathered for people on the ground to help them avoid the worst irma can offer. there has been significant damage along the north coast of cuba. paul grant is in the capital, havana. —— will grant. it is a complex picture

across northern cuba. irma made la ndfall across northern cuba. irma made landfall in havana and run along that northern coastline for the best pa rt that northern coastline for the best part of the day and a half, before heading out to sea, and brought similar devastation to what we have seen elsewhere in the caribbean. i'm in old havana, the crumbling colonial heart of the city. bits of masonry are falling as we speak, so the winds have not completely finished. trees have been felled, and so on. and obviously, bringing down power lines, in a country that already has creaking infrastructure, the tourist infrastructure has been damaged cleverly, we understand, in the east of the island. —— damaged further. we wait to see what the full picture is but many resorts

will have lots of work to do to get up will have lots of work to do to get up and running and tourism has now become the motor of the economy here in cuba. i can now talk to sophie long about how the travel industry is helping holiday—makers. there are people stuck in the caribbean not happy with the level of support or lack of it they have had from tour operators and airlines. there has been quite a lot of criticism of thomas cook. thousands of people in the dominican republic and cuba and florida, up to 15,000 customers, so it is a huge operation for them, as you can imagine. they have some criticism. about 2000 people were taken from cuba ahead of the hurricane. thomas cook evacuated them to a place called varadero which is still on the coast and in the path of

hurricane irma. lots of customers of thomas cook there said that, why we re thomas cook there said that, why were they not flown out of their com pletely were they not flown out of their completely at? people are also saying that flights were still going into the region on wednesday and should there have been thomas cook flights, and they said they had offered all their customers the chance to cancel their trips for refunds. we have been speaking to the retail and customer experience director of thomas cook. she said that the bbc that they acted on the advice of the cuban authorities and the foreign office. they said it was their advice to evacuate customers to varadero and when that decision was made they concentrated on sloping hotels, more importantly, hotels that could withstand the force of irma. she said it was a dynamic situation and at the time that decision was made they did not know that irma would be passing

directly through that part of the world. they are just making sure that people are safe, and as quickly as possible. and talk about other airlines and people due to travel to this region, the caribbean florida, in the coming days. thomas cook is not the only tour operator operating in that region. british airways have come in for some criticism. some customers said their response has not been good enough. in the run—up to hurricane irma they were not given the opportunity to fly out and people had to find thousands of pounds to get off caribbean islands like the turks and caicos islands and other caribbean islands. they say that they are in regular contact with holiday—makers to make sure that they are being looked after by their hotel management. they said that because many airports are closed it is adjusting schedules and will do what it can to help customers with travel plans. they have set a plane to bermuda, for

example, which will wait until the hurricane has passed, then they can get people there and pick up from florida, as well. tour operators and airlines are doing what they can but many airports are closed so in terms of getting more teams in to help on the ground or other people out, it is very difficult at the moment. in terms of looking ahead, people thinking of travelling to the caribbean, the advice is to be in close contact with your airline. and ta ke close contact with your airline. and take their advice. and there is plenty more on hurricane irma on our website. you're watching bbc news. the headlines: hurricane irma slams into the florida keys with winds of up to hundred and 30 miles an hour. it is predicted to create a catastrophic storm surge which could be up to 15 feet high in places. and in other

news, mexican officials say at least 90 people are known to have died in the earthquake there on thursday. sport now, and we have a full round—up from the bbc sport centre. the final stage of the vuelta a espanais the final stage of the vuelta a espa na is underway the final stage of the vuelta a espana is underway and chris froome will be about two win it, winning two ra nters and will be about two win it, winning two ranters and the same year. it really is something of an achievement, this, to be the tour de france champion and the tour spain champion. he says it will be his greatest for himself. that is right. it is an astonishing feat. the final stage today is fairly ceremonial.

tradition dictates your not allowed to challenge the leader on the final stage. all he has to do is crossed the line in one piece. all the hard work was done yesterday on one of the most this —— the most voracious client and world cycling, the angiru. he was speaking about the sacrifices he made and he said it was probably his greatest achievement, because of the history attached to this. he's the first british rider to win the vuelta a espana and only the third rider in history to win the vuelta a espana and the tour de france in the same summer. jack's older deal, bernard pennock, the only two of riders they have done that —— hinault and anquituil. this really does cement

his place amongst the all—time greats of cycling. crystal palace's dreadful start to the league season has continued with a 1—0 defeat at burnley. after four matches palace have no points and haven't scored a single goal. that's a premier league first. their manager frank de boer admitted that he could be on borrowed time. maz farookhi reports. trips to bolli demand a robust approach. with the teams are low on the buttons, this is not the way to start the match. a confused backpass was seized upon by chris wood, and a second goalfor was seized upon by chris wood, and a second goal for the new burnley striker in as many games. palace needed to try a more direct approach and their best chances came from set pieces. the burnley goalkeeper tom heaton was untroubled for much of the first half. and then a nasty

fall the first half. and then a nasty fa ll forced the first half. and then a nasty fall forced him to be substituted, an injury to his left shoulder that could yet prove to be serious. his replacement, nick pope, held his nerve. in contrast, palace could not. they dominated possession with nothing to show for it. there will be few chances better than this for scott dann to give their first goal of the season. for palace, another game gone with no points goal is to show for their efforts. the pressures of the premier league are all too clear now for frank de boer. we have always started and done the ha rd we have always started and done the hard and we fought today until the la st hard and we fought today until the last second. the only thing we didn't do was score. do you think you will be given the time to get things going? i don't know. the only things going? i don't know. the only thing i think to do is to work very ha rd thing i think to do is to work very hard with the boys, and that is what

lam going hard with the boys, and that is what i am going to do until the last time and hopefully for a long period. 20 minutes gone at the liberty stadium — 14th against 16th, swansea v newcastle. renato sanchez is making his debut for the swans. no goals yet. mo farah has won the great north run for a fourth time in a row. he took the lead in the half marathon 200m before the finish in south shields. farah, a multiple olympic and world champion, retired from the track last month. he will race in the london maarthon next april he confirmed today. that's all sport for now. you can keep up to date with all those stories on the bbc sport website. i will have a full update in the next hour. i want to show you some pictures we have received from cuba.

it was battered overnight by hurricane irma, the northern coast. you can see emergency personnel helping with the rescue of people from low—lying areas of the capital, habana. —— havana. waves breached the sea wall of the city. that storm surge caused by hurricane irma, of course. emergency workers bringing a baby to safety. those pictures just in from havana. and just a note from the caribbean we are hearing from the dutch prime minister that the death toll on the dutch side of st martin after irma past has risen to four. officials in mexico say at least 90 people are now known to have died in thursday's earthquake — the strongest the country has seen in a century. more than 70 people have been

killed in the south—west state of uichitan. hundreds of families have reportedly been camping in the streets, afraid of the dangers of aftershocks. aaron safir reports. clearing the rubble injuchitan in southern mexico, the town worst hit by thursday's earthquake. rescuers have told the bbc they don't believe there is anyone left under the 7,000 buildings that collapsed here. and while the machines, men and sniffer dogs continue their work, others continue to bury their dead. at least 36 people are reported to have been killed here. among them, this man's son. translation: he didn't have time to get out and the building completely collapsed. it was very old, over 200 years old, and unfortunately out of the seven people who were inside, only four were able to be rescued. the other three unfortunately died. tabasco, chiapas and oaxaca states are among mexico's poorest and least developed.

the earthquake that hit them was the most powerful anywhere in the world since 2015. 8.1 in magnitude. tremors were felt in mexico city, some 500 miles away. the earthquake was deep, so the shaking felt on the surface was less strong than it would have been for a shallower one. that's little comfort for these people picking up the pieces in juchitan. one in three houses are affected and thousands of families have lost their homes. food and water are scarce and parts of the city don't have electricity. the hundreds of after—shocks felt since thursday have left people fearful. translation: a lot of people are sleeping on the streets because they fear another quake, because they fear the after—shocks that have been happening continuously, and it's a very ugly fear that we're experiencing. the authorities say tens of thousands of ration packs, blankets and cleaning kits are arriving to help the recovery efforts, but for the homeless and bereaved

of southern mexico, it is help that can't come soon enough and will only be the first step in rebuilding their lives. rohingya muslim rebels in myanmar have declared a unilateral one—month ceasefire, saying they want to ease the humanitarian crisis in the country. rebel attacks on security forces triggered a two—week military campaign during which nearly 300,000 rohingyas fled to neighbouring bangladesh. soldiers have been accused of carrying out killings and burning villages. five people have died after violent rainstorms swept through tuscany in italy this morning. the port city of livorno saw the worst of it, as rain turned streets into rivers and post away cars. the mirror of the city says he fears disaster. a code

orange alert has been strong winds on tuesday night. sunny spells and heavy showers on wednesday. hello. this is bbc news with anita mcveigh. the headlines at a.30pm:

hurricane irma slams into the florida keys with winds up to 130 miles per hour. more than 6 million people have been ordered to leave their homes as the storm inches closer to the mainland. the hurricane is predicted to create a catastrophic storm surge, which could be up to 15 feet high in places.