Hurricane Irma reached peak intensity near the Caribbean islands of Barbuda, Saint Martin, and Virgin Gorda.

Hurricane Irma was an extremely powerful and devastating tropical cyclone that caused extensive damage and loss of life across the Antilles and Eastern United States in September 2017. Irma was the first Category 5 hurricane to strike the Leeward Islands on record, though it was followed by Hurricane Maria, which struck the region at Category 5 intensity as well two weeks later. At the time, Irma was considered the most powerful hurricane on record in the open Atlantic region, outside of the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, until it was surpassed by Hurricane Dorian two years later. It was also the third-strongest Atlantic hurricane at landfall ever recorded, just behind the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane and Dorian. Irma was the ninth named storm, fourth hurricane, second major hurricane, and first Category 5 hurricane of the extremely active 2017 Atlantic hurricane season.

Barbuda is an island and dependency located in the eastern Caribbean forming part of the twin-island state of Antigua and Barbuda as an autonomous entity. Barbuda is located approximately 30 miles (48 km) north of Antigua. The only settlements on the island are Codrington and its surrounding localities. Barbuda is a flat island with the western portion being dominated by Codrington Lagoon, and the eastern portion being dominated by the elevated plateau of the Barbuda Highlands, with salty ponds and scrubland spread throughout the island. The climate is classified as tropical marine.

Saint Martin is an island in Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles in the northeastern Caribbean, approximately 300 km (190 mi) east of Puerto Rico. The 87 km² (34 sq mi) island is divided roughly 60:40 between France and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, but the Dutch part is more populated than the French. Divided since 1648, the northern French part comprises the Collectivity of Saint Martin and is an overseas collectivity of France. The southern Dutch part comprises Sint Maarten and is one of four constituent countries that form the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Even though the island is an overseas possession of two European Union member states, only the French part of the island is part of the EU.