Canadians return to country from Turks and Caicos islands overcoming Hurricane Irma

The Canadians were not allowed for a week to board the flights by Turks and Caicos officials to return to the country.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland was himself present at the Pearson Airport on Monday to welcome the residents of the country.

Freeland said the tickets were not at all important for the passengers to come back to the country but the priority was whether they were from Canada or not.

The minister felt it was important on her part to be present at the airport.

Along with the Canadians, there were several extra seats in the two planes which brought the passengers to Canada for 50 Amercians to help them to get away from the islands.

The officials of Turks and Caicos have allowed Air Canada to operate their first return flight to Toronto on Monday afternoon.

Apart from Turks and Caicos islands, the Hurrican Irma has affected Caribbean islands, Cuba, Florida.

Irma has so far killed at least 20 people in the Caribbean, while destroying some of the popular tourist destinations.

Meanwhile, the Hurricane's path has forced the Florida government to warn 5.6 million people, or 25 percent of the state's population to leave before the calamity strike the US state.

This is also the first time in decades that Cuba has been hit by a category five hurricane.

Provinces like Camaguey, Ciego de Avila, Sancti Spiritus, Villa Clara and Matanzas have been placed under warnings, BBC reported.

Following the onslaught, the Barbuda Island is said to be barely habitable, while BBC news quoted officials as saying that the French territory of St Martin is almost destroyed.

Irma is said to be the most powerful Atlantic storm in a decade and had wind speeds of 295km/h (185mph).

Following the devastation, Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne said about 95 percent of the buildings had suffered some damage. 

"The island is literally under water. In fact, I'm of the view that, as it stands now, Barbuda is barely habitable," he was quoted in the media as saying.

The hurricane also destroyed St Martin's airport, the third largest in the Caribbean.

Hurricane Irma hit Florida on Sunday, disrupting normal life in the American state, media reports said.

The storm snapped trees in the area and hit badly lives of 1 million people.

Hurling 130 mph winds, the Category 4 storm made landfall on Cudjoe Key, the National Hurricane Center was quoted as saying in CNN report.

According to reports, more than 1 million homes are currently without fire.

(Reporting by Suman Das)