A man from Wimbledon Park who was caught up in the jaws of Hurricane Maria in Dominica is now working to rebuild a school destroyed by the storm.
Marine researcher and photographer Arun Madisetti said he saw houses "explode" in the storm - recorded as the tenth most powerful Atlantic storm ever.
The next morning Arun joined others repairing the damage which he said was worse than a movie warzone.
He said: "Usually in a warzone you have pockets of calm, rescue someone, take them to safety, but Dominica had none of that.”
Mr Madisetti is a former pupil of Priory Primary School in Wimbledon, whose mum Theadora still lives in the area. He and his wife Liz are now raising funds to rebuild a local secondary school called Orion Academy which was "terribly damaged" in the storm, on September 18.
Liz said: "We need structural repairs to the building, including repairs to the roof. We also need funds for teacher salaries , school supplies, and other administrative costs. We need support from our friends outside of Dominica now more than ever!"
If you can donate please visit https://www.gofundme.com/help-rebuild-orion-academy-dominica
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