Richard Branson has shared photos of the devastation done to his Necker Island paradise island home in the wake of Hurricane Irma.
The entrepreneur posted updates online showing the destruction caused by Irma, a Category 5 storm so strong it registered on earthquake devices, adding he’d ‘never seen anything like’ the damage.
The hurricane has destroyed his British Virgin Islands home, along with the residences of thousands of locals across the Caribbean, as the estimated death toll creeps up to 25.
As the storm hit Necker Island, ripping up buildings and blowing away trees, Branson and his team bunkered down and waited it out in a wine cellar.
The billionaire has since travelled to Puerto Rico to help coordinate aid efforts and rebuilding plans on the British Virgin Islands and surrounding Caribbean.
Writing on his blog, he said:
As you can see from the photos, much of the buildings and vegetation on Necker has been destroyed or badly damaged.
We felt the full force of the strongest hurricane ever in the Atlantic Ocean. But we are very fortunate to have a strong cellar built into Necker’s Great House and were very lucky all of our teams who stayed on Island during the storm are safe and well.
I am writing from Puerto Rico, where I have travelled in order to further mobilise aid efforts and rebuilding plans for the British Virgin Islands and wider Caribbean. Communications remain mostly down in the BVI after Hurricane Irma.
He has also shared news of his company’s donation to the relief funds, urging others to follow suit.
The UK billionaire also called on the UK to lend a hand to help those devastated by the natural disaster.
He continued:
The UK government will have a massive role to play in the recovery of its territories affected by Irma – both through short-term aid and long-term infrastructure spending.
The region needs a “Disaster Recovery Marshall Plan” for the BVI and other territories that will aid in recovery, sustainable reconstruction and long-term revitalisation of the local economy.
Our thoughts are with all the people and regions hit by Hurricane Irma, and all those in the US communities currently facing the storm.
Branson had previously laid the blame for both Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma at the feet of ‘man-made climate change’, dubbing it a ‘key factor in the intensity of hurricanes’.
Hurricane Irma has since hit the Florida coast, registering as a Category 2 storm. It is believed to have caused the deaths of four residents so far.
Out thoughts are with all those affected.
A former emo kid who talks too much about 8Chan meme culture, the Kardashian Klan, and how her smartphone is probably killing her. Francesca is a Cardiff University Journalism Masters grad who has done words for BBC, ELLE, The Debrief, DAZED, an art magazine you’ve never heard of and a feminist zine which never went to print.