Richard Branson is set to hunker down with Virgin staff in the wine cellar of his Necker Island home as Hurricane Irma rages through the Caribbean
Richard Branson is preparing to retreat to his wine cellar as the most powerful hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic heads towards his Necker Island complex.
The billionaire Virgin boss has already announced he will not leave his home on the British Virgin Islands despite Hurricane Irma - which is the size of France - threatening 'potentially catastrophic' as it lashes the Caribbean with 185mph winds.
Speaking of his experience last night, Branson - who is staying with an entire team of staff on the island - said the 'howling wind and rain' battered his home and created an 'eerie but beautiful' atmosphere.
He wrote on his blog today: 'We are expecting to get the full force of the hurricane in around five hours’ time, when we will retreat to a concrete wine cellar under the Great House.
Knowing our wonderful team as I do, I suspect there will be little wine left in the cellar when we all emerge.'
He added: 'The strength of this hurricane is unheard of.
'Everyone is willing the eye of the storm to veer away from the BVI [British Virgin Islands] in these last few hours. As I wrote yesterday, our main concern is safety, for everyone here and for all the people in the BVI and in the path of the hurricane
All of us slept together in two rooms. I haven't had a sleepover quite like it since I was a kid.'
He said that, despite worries about the storm's severity, he considers it a 'privilege' to weather 'possibly the strongest storm ever' with a 'great group of young people'.
He said: 'We were listening to the parrots in their boxes in the next room chattering away. Watching the tortoises congregating together, as if they sense what is coming our way.'
But Branson is not the only notable figure with something to lose in the storm - a host of celebrities could see their homes wrecked by Hurricane Irma as it smashes into the Caribbean.
Mass evacuations are set to take place in the Florida Keys and the Caribbean after the hurricane - the size of France - was declared the most powerful storm ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean with 185mph winds.
This morning, the 'potentially catastrophic' hurricane slammed into Barbuda just hours after officials warned people to seek protection from Irma's 'onslaught' in a statement that closed with: 'May God protect us all.
Aid agencies, meanwhile, are bracing for a 'major humanitarian response'.
Homes belonging to the likes of Johnny Depp, David Copperfield, Oprah Winfrey, Mick Jagger and even President Donald Trump could also be hit.
The Miami-based National Hurricane Center reported that the storm is headed northwest toward the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico with potential for storm surges of up to 20 feet above normal tide levels
Preparations should be rushed to completion in the hurricane warning area,' the NHC said.
President Trump's five-acre le Château des Palmiers estate on the French island of St Martin is one of many homes at risk from the hurricane.
Trump is thought to value the property at about $50 million but it has recently been listed for $16.9 million.
The 11-bedroom mansion features a tennis court and golden curtains.
Johnny Depp's 45-acre private island in the Bahamas, Little Hall's Pond Cay, could be at serious risk as authorities announce the beginning of evacuations.
He bought the island in 2004 for close to $3.6million.
Fellow actor and Bahamas island owner Eddie Murphy, meanwhile, could see his Rooster Cay home damaged.
Illusionist David Copperfield also owns Musha Cay in the Bahamas and could be fearing Irma's power.
Mick Jagger is believed to own property on Mustique - an island in St Vincent and the Grenadines - while Oprah Winfrey is understood to have a home on Antigua.
Bruce Willis and Keith Richards, meanwhile, have property on Parrot Cay in Turks and Caicos.
And Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich's $50million pad on St Barts - in Guadeloupe - is also in the hurricane's path.
The monster hurricane, the most powerful on the five-level Saffir-Simpson scale, is packing maximum sustained winds of 185 miles per hour.
The storm was moving towards the west at 14 miles per hour, and is expected to drop between four and eight inches of rain when it hits land.
Schools and government offices in the French overseas territory have been ordered shut, while hospitals are stocking up on medicines, food and drinking water.
People living on shorelines will be moved to safety, authorities said.
In Guadeloupe, families filed into shelters with their children, along with tourists.
