The Prince of Wales saw firsthand the destruction wreaked by Hurricane Irma on the paradise island of Barbuda.
Charles flew into the Caribbean island to meet survivors and those who helped in the aftermath of the natural disaster which severely damaged buildings, destroyed infrastructure and claimed the life of a toddler, killed as his parents tried to escape.
As the heir to the throne’s chartered plane arrived in Barbuda the pilot flew over a small settlement showing roofless houses, now covered with blue tarpaulin to make them weatherproof.
On the ground his first stop was a primary school, visited by Prince Harry last year, which was severely damaged and has been now abandoned by staff and pupils.
Charles was taken to see the forlorn sight of classrooms strewn with books and other schoolwork destroyed by wind and rain, and in other parts of the grounds buildings had been demolished by the force of the hurricane which struck in September.
The prince was joined by senior officers from the Antigua and Barbuda defence force and NGOs as he briefly toured the island.
At one point he told the group: “The problem is how to build in a more resilient way to deal with ever more ferocious hurricanes.”
Charles meets rescue volunteers during a visit to the reception at Government House in Antigua (Victoria Jones/PA)
Charles is fulfilling a personal mission to see for himself the damage caused by Hurricanes Irma and Maria, which barrelled across the Caribbean leaving destruction in their wake in September.
He was told that the force of Hurricane Irma was “unprecedented” by the Barbuda affairs minister Arthur Nibbs, who added there had “never been anything like it in 200 years”.
Charles highlighted how experts believe climate change is exacerbating the problem, with rising sea temperatures leading to more powerful storms, “this will get worse with continuous warming,” he said.
On Friday, the first day of a three-day trip to the region, the prince met Barbudan survivors living in a technical college being used as a shelter for homeless islanders.
With their bungalow-style dwellings either destroyed, badly damaged or without power many of the islands 1,700 residents have left with only around 100 remaining.
The prince told the minister as they stood among the school ruins: “I was talking to a lot of the residents in the technical college, they long to get back – they must be so frustrated.”
Michael Joseph, president of the Antigua and Barbuda Red Cross, who had representatives in Barbuda for Charles’ visit said: “Most Barbudans will tell you it’s the eye of the hurricane that saved Barbuda.
“At that critical point when the eye passed (overhead) Barbudans, they just pretty much rushed to the hospital, which had a concrete ceiling and that’s what saved them.”
In the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, Mr Joseph flew to the island with colleagues to make an assessment and was shocked by what he saw from the air.
He said: “It was utter devastation, it was like flying into a deserted island where an atomic bomb had just landed – everything was just obliterated.”
Charles visited Barbuda’s Hanna Thomas Hospital, now temporarily deserted, and stopped to look at the tape on the windows which had been put there in case they shattered during the hurricane. He was also shown the concrete ceiling which withstood the force of the natural disaster.
In a lighter moment, he stopped at the home of Evans Thomas, 50, who has turned his house into a makeshift bar after the nearby pub was destroyed.
The prince chatted to locals having a beer on Mr Thomas’ porch and was then taken inside and shown the freezer, run on electricity from a small portable generator, keeping the drinks cold.
The new landlord said: “He wanted to see where I kept the beers, I opened the bar in my house after the bar next door was totalled. It was lovely to meet him – it was an experience.”