A really detailed article on the whole situation. It's officially the strongest storm in the Atlantic on record.
Irma is so strong it's registering on earthquake devices | Daily Mail Online
That's not accurate at all. Without clicking through, I'd hazard a guess that the DM got their story (minus the usual DM typos and bad proofreading) from the Miami Herald, and THAT story was a crock. They eventually amended that to say "outside of the Gulf of Mexico/Carribean."
I'm on my phone, so hot linking is a pain, but Google can turn up what I've found. Strong storms do turn up on seismographs; while the amount of energy required to do that is impressive, Irma is not alone. I found a Harvard abstract comparing the microseismic signatures of Katrina and super-typhoon Ioki (a damned impressive 2006 storm, in case anyone wants to get their "cyclone nerd" on). Category 4 storms also drum up a seismic measurement. It's awe-inspiring, to say the least, but using that information to whip up a frenzy is garbage reporting.
As for the "strongest storm on record" claims, that's hogwash. A hurricane's intensity is determined by its barometric pressure, not just wind speed. As of the 1200 EDT advisory, Irma's top wind was at 185mph, with a central pressure of 922mb (same as hPa). Hurricane Wilma (2005) bottomed out at 882mb, Camille (1969) hit 900mb, and Katrina dipped to 902mb. Yes, those were all Gulf of Mexico storms, with Wilma not fitting the Cape Verde profile.
Irma does tie with Andrew (1992) at 922mb. However, Andrew was just above the threshold for category 5 when he came ashore. In fact, he was originally considered a category 4 when he came ashore (154mph winds); the category 5 designation came a few years later after reviewing the damage reports and read outs from various weather stations.
Irma is a strong, dangerous storm. The media's overwhelming desire to sensationalize this storm only serves to numb the public to the gravity of the situation now, and with regards to future major hurricanes. If every storm becomes the storm of the century, then people will tune out the people who bill it as such. Compare them to other storms, certainly. That gives people a reference point that they can understand, and is much less full of malarkey than "WORST STORM EVER" in big, red letters.