From Caribbean News Service

Richard Branson has warned Hurricane Maria is going to bring even more “catastrophic damage” to the British Virgin Islands than the devastating Hurricane Irma.

The Virgin boss bunkered down in his mansion’s wine cellar in the Caribbean during Irma and shared videos of the aftermath to social media.

“Having just gone through one of the strongest hurricanes in history, I’ve seen first-hand the impact climate change is having,” Branson wrote on his blog.

“Even as the world faces increasingly shocking climate change-related catastrophes, now is our opportunity to get on top of the problem before it’s too late.”

Branson – who took his staff underground as Hurricane Irma hit the Caribbean – said his immediate worry is Hurricane Maria and the damage it will inflict on the already devastated islands.

“Our immediate worry is Hurricane Maria, which… looks to be moving along a very similar trajectory to Hurricane Irma,” he said.

“The people of the BVI and Caribbean, who have been absolutely devastated by Irma, are now bracing themselves for another terrible hurricane,” he said.

Branson said the British Virgin Islands need “the world’s attention now” to help them get back on their feet after the “unimaginable destruction” caused by the hurricanes.

Hurricane Maria has strengthened to a Category 5 “potentially catastrophic” storm.

Hurricane warnings have been posted for the US and British Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Guadeloupe, Dominica, St. Kitts, Nevis and Montserrat.

A tropical storm warning was issued for Antigua and Barbuda, Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Maarten, St. Lucia, Martinique and Anguilla.

The US National Hurricane Center said Maria had maximum sustained winds of 260 kph Monday evening. It was heading west-northwest at 15 kph.

“Maria is developing the dreaded pinhole eye,” the center warned.

That’s a sign of an extremely strong hurricane likely to get even mightier, said University of Miami hurricane researcher Brian McNoldy. Just like when a spinning ice skater brings in their arms and rotates faster, a smaller, tighter eye shows the same physics, he said.

“You just don’t see those in weaker hurricanes,” McNoldy said.

It has already pounded the small island of Dominica as it surged into the eastern Caribbean on Monday night.

The storm was following a path that could take it near many of the islands recently smashed by Hurricane Irma and then head toward a possible direct strike on Puerto Rico on Wednesday.

A series of Facebook posts by Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit captured the fury of the storm as it made landfall on the mountainous island.

“The winds are merciless! We shall survive by the grace of God,” Skerrit wrote at the start of a series of increasingly harrowing posts.

A few minutes later, he messaged he could hear the sound of galvanized steel roofs tearing off houses on the small rugged island.

He then wrote that he thought his home had been damaged. And three words: “Rough! Rough! Rough!”

A half hour later, he said: “My roof is gone. I am at the complete mercy of the hurricane. House is flooding.” Seven minutes later he posted he had been rescued.

It was the first official word from Dominica after the eye wall moved ashore.

Dominica authorities had closed schools and government offices and urged people to move from dangerous areas to shelters.

“We should treat the approaching hurricane very, very seriously,” the prime minister warned as the storm approached. “This much water in Dominica is dangerous.”

In August 2015, Tropical Storm Erika unleashed flooding and landslides that killed 31 people and destroyed more than 370 homes on the small, mountainous island.

Officials on nearby Guadeloupe said the French island would experience extremely heavy flooding and warned that many communities could be submerged overnight.

In Martinique, authorities ordered people to remain indoors and said they should prepare for cuts to power and water. Schools and non-essential public services were closed.

With Puerto Rico appearing destined for a hit, officials in the US territory warned residents of wooden or otherwise flimsy homes to find safe shelter.

“You have to evacuate. Otherwise you’re going to die,” said Hector Pesquera, Puerto Rico’s public safety commissioner. “I don’t know how to make this any clearer.”

The US territory imposed rationing of basic supplies including water, milk, baby formula, canned food, batteries and flashlights.

The storm’s hurricane-force winds extended about 35 kilometres from the eye, and tropical storm-force winds as far as 205 kilometres.

Forecasters said storm surge could raise water levels by 1.8 to 2.7 meters near Maria’s center. The storm was predicted to bring 25 to 38 centimetres of rain for some islands, with the possibility of higher amounts in isolated spots.

The current forecast track would carry it about 35 kilometres south of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands late Tuesday and early Wednesday, territorial Gov. Kenneth Mapp said.

“We are going to have a very, very long night,” Mapp said as he urged people in the territory to finish any preparations.

For more on this story go to: https://caribbeannewsservice.com/now/british-virgin-islands-richard-branson-warns-maria-will-be-worse-than-irma-for-bvi/