Hurricane Irma's Category 5 Power Crushes U.S. Virgin Islands

Jeffrey M. Chase, MD

Editor's Note: This editorial is an account written by AAOS Fellow Jeffrey M. Chase, MD, who rode out Hurricane Irma in his house on the U.S. Virgin Island of St. Thomas. Irma, a category 5 hurricane, with sustained winds of 180 MPH and gusts up to 220 MPH, roared across the United States and British Virgin Islands (BVI) on Sept. 6, 2017. It was the strongest Atlantic Ocean hurricane in recorded history.