The Caribbean is unquestionably one of the most beautiful places in the world.
But in the wake of Hurricane Irma, which blew through St. Bart's, Anguilla, and Richard Branson's private Necker Island with winds of up to 185 miles per hour, the bucolic region has turned into a disaster zone. At least 13 people in the Caribbean have died as a result of the category-five storm, CNN reports, and communication with many of the islands was disrupted due to cell tower damage.
St. Bart's & St. Martin
On Wednesday night, French President Emmanuel Macron said it was too early to tell how badly the islands of St. Martin and St. Bart's had been damaged, but he said the aftermath would be "harsh and cruel."
"We will have victims to lament, and the material damage on the two islands is considerable," Macron said.
St. Maartin's famous airport, where arriving airliners fly directly over a beach frequently full of tourists, has been nearly destroyed. According to the Associated Press, Dutch officials found sand washed up to the main terminal along with major damage to the roof.
Eden Rock, the hotel owned by the parents of Pippa Middleton's husband James Matthews on the tony island of St. Bart's, was hit especially hard, according to photos posted on Facebook.
A spokesperson for the hotel tells Town & Country:
"We are pleased to report that all members of Eden Rock's staff are safe. During the storm, the property was closed for annual maintenance and therefore no guests were in-residence. That said, St Barths has experienced serious damage as a result of Hurricane Irma. At this stage, it is too early to report the magnitude of the event on Eden Rock – St Barths's buildings and facilities. Communication between St Barths and the Metropole has not yet been restored. Further updates will follow, as they are available. The scheduled re-opening of Eden Rock in early October has now been postponed until further notice."
Barbuda
About 90 miles southeast, the 62-square-mile island of Barbuda is now "barely habitable," Antigua and Barbuda's prime minister, Gaston Browne, told ABS TV/Radio Antigua yesterday. Ninety-five percent of the buildings were damaged and the island of 1,800 residents "is literally rubble," he added. Browne estimated it will take at least $150 million to restore it.
BVI
Billionaire Richard Branson rode out the storm in the wine cellar of his luxurious, 74-acre getaway in the British Virgin Islands, Necker Island, which former President Barack Obama visited in February.
"I have never seen anything like this hurricane," Branson posted on his website Thursday (he said everyone who stayed on his island is safe). "Necker and the whole area have been completely and utterly devastated. We are still assessing the damage, but whole houses and trees have disappeared. Outside of the bunker, bathroom and bedroom doors and windows have flown 40 feet away."
Sadly, the region isn't out of the woods yet. Hurricane Jose, a category-two hurricane is brewing in the Atlantic Ocean and is expected to follow a track similar to Irma's and hit the Caribbean islands over the weekend.
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