Powerful Hurricane Irma lashes Cuba; Florida braces for hit

By MICHAEL WEISSENSTEIN
HAVANA — Hurricane Irma battered Cuba on Saturday with deafening winds and unremitting rain, pushing seawater inland and flooding homes before taking aim at Florida.
In its wake, yet another powerful storm — category 4 Hurricane Jose — threatened islands already reeling from Irma’s devastation.
The twin storms had desperate residents seeking shelter across the Caribbean. In St. Martin, with Hurricane Jose expected to bring torrential rains and a sw