Caribbean faces hard road to recovery after Irma's ravages

Waves crash against the Mudejar gazebo at the Almendares river, after the passing of Hurricane Irma, in Havana, Cuba, September 10, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer

VARADERO, Cuba (Reuters) - From Cuba to Antigua, Caribbean islanders began counting the cost of Hurricane Irma on Sunday after the brutal storm left a trail of death, destruction and chaos from which the tourist-dependent region could take years to recover.

The Category 5 storm, which killed at least 28 people across the region, devastated housing, power supplies and communications, leaving some small islands almost cut off from the world. European nations sent military reinforcements to keep order amid looting, while the damage was expected to total billions of dollars.