Cars have been turned to wrecks by Hurricane Irma on the British Virgin Islands. Photo / AP
Cars have been turned to wrecks by Hurricane Irma on the British Virgin Islands. Photo / AP
In the wake of Hurricane Irma, the destruction suffered in the British Virgin Islands has been described as apocalyptic and devastation reminiscent of total war.
"It's just carnage here," Freeman Rogers, a local resident and the editor of the BVI Beacon, told the Washington Post last week.
That imagery is not lost on Virgin Group founder Richard Branson. The British billionaire rode out the storm in the wine cellar of his private Caribbean island, then wrote in a blog post that he had "never seen anything like this hurricane".
Yesterday, he invoked a post-World War II reconstruction effort in Europe to describe what he believes must take place to help the Caribbean islands hammered by Irma's historically savage winds and flooding that has left at least 34 dead, AP reported.
"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," he wrote on the Virgin blog, his platform of choice since Irma passed over Branson's Necker Island.
"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," Branson wrote.
The European Recovery Programme was a US-led effort to inject US$13 billion into the economy of 16 European nations with agriculture and industrial production hollowed out by the war. It has been forever linked to then-Secretary of State George Marshall, who powerfully called for substantial aid to Europe during a speech at Harvard University in 1947.
By many measures, the plan was a success, with a 150 per cent increase in standard of living over the next three decades in participating countries, according to the Marshall Centre, and stronger ties with Europe on diplomatic and economic levels. Launched in 1948, the aid effort concluded in 1952.
"Over the coming weeks, we'll have to assess exactly what is needed. It is clear to me creating jobs is paramount - there will be a huge amount of rebuilding to be done and people will need work to help rebuild their lives as well as their homes," Branson said in his blog.
Sir Richard Branson.
Branson and his company are looking to plant seeds in the recovery effort by tasking his foundation, Virgin Unite, to coordinate aid and supplies in the short term and reconstruction efforts in the months ahead, Branson wrote.
Last week, Branson dictated his vivid updates and notes on the destruction near Necker Island through a satellite phone after communications networks were brought down.
"The boats are piled up like matchsticks in the harbour. Huge cargo ships were thrown out of the water and into rocks. Resorts have been decimated," Branson said after a tour of Virgin Gorda, a nearby island southwest of Necker.
"The houses have their roofs blown off; even some churches where people sheltered have lost roofs. But the whole British Virgin Islands community is rallying round," he said.
Branson had said his compound was built with reinforced hurricane blinds designed to withstand high winds. But that wasn't the case for the surrounding area or the rest of 30ha Necker Island, his property for four decades.
Nasa Earth Observatory images show the US and British Virgin Islands islands in August, top, and after Hurricane Irma. Photo / AP
"I have never seen anything like this hurricane. Necker and the whole area have been completely and utterly devastated. We are still assessing the damage, but whole houses and trees have disappeared," he said.
"Outside of the bunker, bathroom and bedroom doors and windows have flown 40 feet [12m] away."
Branson is the 324th wealthiest person in the world, with a net worth of about US$5 billion, according to Forbes, which notes that he bought Necker Island for US$180,000.
A few hours before Irma's impact, Branson wrote that he planned to retreat with his team to his concrete wine cellar below "the Great House".
