Hurricane Irma: Sir Richard Branson says Necker Island 'utterly devastated' by storm
SIR RICHARD BRANSON has revealed the destruction wreaked upon Necker Island by Hurricane Irma.
Sir Richard Branson says that Hurricane Irma has left Necker Island 'devastated'
The 67-year-old British business mogul wrote a blog post sharing the news that his team on the 74-acre private island in the British Virgin Islands were all safe after the hurricane hit last night.
"All of the team who stayed on Necker and Moskito during the hurricane are safe and well," he said in the post, which was transcribed after he relayed the message via satellite phone, the storm having brought down communication lines on the island.
"We took shelter from the strongest hurricane ever inside the concrete cellar on Necker and very, verity fortunately it held firm," he continued.
Sir Richard also shared the scenes of ruin in the Caribbean, saying: "I have never seen anything like this hurricane. Necker and the whole area have been completely and utterly devastated.
Sir Richard spoke out about the destruction wreaked on his island by the storm
He also said that Virgin had made donations to the British Red Cross to aid relief
"We are still assessing the damage, but whole houses and trees have disappeared," he added.
Yesterday, reports revealed that 95 per cent of the small island southeast of necker, Barduda, had sustained damage.
Images and footage from surrounding Caribbean islands St. Martin and St Barthelemy also show devastation as buildings and vehicles are wrecked in the chaos.
Hurricane Irma is on its way to The Bahamas
Caribbean islands such as Saint Martin have been wrecked by Hurricane Irma
Sir Richard shared the news that his company Virgin Unite have made a donation to the British Red Cross in order to aid relief efforts, and encouraged people to make further contributions where they could.
"Our thoughts go out to everyone affected by the disaster elsewhere in the [British Virgin Islands], Caribbean and beyond," he said.
Hurricane Irma has dropped from a Category 5 to a Category 4 and has already killed at least 10 people.