DISASTER response volunteers helping communities devastated by Hurricane Irma are battening down the hatches as another storm is forecast.

Volunteers are carrying out work to prepare for Hurricane Maria, which has been forecast to hit Puerto Rico in the coming days.

Team Rubicon, based in Chilmark, is closely monitoring the storm's progression and helping communities prepare for a second potential hit by helping secure already damaged buildings and shelters.

Paul Taylor, who is part of the Team Rubicon UK team in Barbados, said: "We are all hoping it is going to be diverted north. What people are doing now is preparation for when it hits.

"Obviously, we are continuing with the relief efforts but at the same time the hardboards that were put over windows are now going back on and sandbags are being put back in preparation for Maria."

Team Rubicon UK has volunteers in the British Virgin Islands, Turks and Caicos and Antigua and also Barbados, who are working alongside Salisbury-based disaster response charity Serve On.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) Team Rubicon UK will be sending 40 additional volunteers to the Caribbean where teams are mapping the damage assessing buildings and helping other relief agencies unload much-needed supplies.

On Friday, two more joint Team Rubicon UK and Serve On teams arrived on the British Virgin Islands from Antigua after going to Barbuda to assess the damage there. Barbuda took a direct hit from Irma and is said to be "virtually uninhabitable".

The volunteers are also providing support to local authorities by helping to organise relief efforts, coordinate local volunteers and arrange for aid supplies to be moved from Antigua and Barbados to the other islands.

From fixing power supplies to unloading boxes of food and baby milk from boats to clearing fallen trees and electricity poles from roads, the volunteers are providing essential relief services across these islands.

Paul says the teams have been helping "empower" the local population and working alongside them to help communities get back on their feet.

"It is very much cooperative working," he said.

He says the local people they have been working with have been incredible.

"What I have seen on the ground is that people are very happy we are here and working together. They are incredibly resilient people.

"They just pick themselves up and get on with it. It is quite inspiring how motivated people are."

At the weekend Serve On's first team of volunteers arrived back in the UK after spending nine days helping communities devastated by Hurricane Irma.

The four volunteers have been in Tortola and Virgin Gorda since September 7 - arriving in Virgin Gorda within 100 hours of Hurricane Irma hitting.

The team consisted of Martin Philips, Andy Harris, Tom Hales and Garry Wonnacott who returned on Sunday.

Serve On have set up water filtration equipment which has been providing thousands of litres of clean water to the residents and recovery teams on Virgin Gorda.

This equipment remains in Virgin Gorda along with the communications hub that the team set up to provide a link between Gorda and the outside world.

A further four Serve On members are still working in the Caribbean carrying out important assessments of the damage and identifying the needs of homeless islanders taking refuge in shelters.

To make a donation to help Serve On and Team Rubicon UK's response in the Caribbean go to cafdonate.cafonline.org/7081 or teamrubiconuk.org/donate/