States of emergency declared in Caribbean, Florida ahead of 'extremely dangerous' Hurricane Irma

States of emergencies have been declared in the Caribbean, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Florida as 'extremely dangerous' Hurricane Irma moves closer to land.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) on Tuesday said Irma became a Category 5 storm with maximum sustained winds of 175 mph shortly before 8 am on Tuesday, September 5.

According to report, the storm threaten to hit Antigua, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico by Wednesday before possibly hitting the US mainland.

Irma is the first Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic since Matthew in October 2016. With maximum sustained winds of 180 mph, it’s the strongest hurricane since Felix in September 2007.

The NHC also said Irma became the strongest hurricane in the Atlantic basin outside of the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico in recorded history.

Irma was churning Tuesday morning in the Atlantic about 225 miles east of Antigua and Barbuda, heading west with maximum sustained winds of 180 mph -- well above the 157 mph threshold for a Category 5 -- the hurricane center said.

Preparations should be rushed to completion in the hurricane warning area, the hurricane center said, calling Irma an "extremely dangerous Category 5 hurricane.