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With Hurricane Irma's possible landfall on the United States approaching, President Donald Trump declared a state of emergency in Florida, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands on Tuesday. the Business Insider reported.

According to the White House, the declarations authorize the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate disaster-relief efforts in the three regions, all of which are forecast to be battered by the hurricane this week. The hurricane could reach Puerto Rico as early as Wednesday afternoon before making its way toward the continental US.

The announcement came in three separate White House statements Tuesday evening.

Forecasters have described Irma as a "potentially catastrophic" Category 5 storm and one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes ever recorded.  The massive storm comes as Texas and Louisiana still reel from Hurricane Harvey, which dumped more than 50 inches of rain in some areas and claimed dozens of lives.