Hundreds of animals were airlifted in a private chartered jet from their homes on the US Virgin Islands which were left devastated by a pair of catastrophic hurricanes.

Dismayed as Hurricane Irma whirled toward St. Thomas, St. John and St. Croix, Sali Gear who grew up on the islands but now lives in Virginia, swooped in to help some of the archipelago’s dogs and cats.

She told the WAVY news channel that it was a "herculean effort to save these animals."

Ms Gear, who runs Island Dog Rescue in Virginia Beach added that when she "watched Irma build up, I called the shelters ahead of time and said ‘hey I’m here for you.’”

Her organisation arranged for a charter jet to transport animals to the safety of Virginia Beach free of charge, an effort that the The Virginian-Pilot reported to have cost around $112,000 - some of it from donations. Norfolk Airport chronicled their arrival.

From there, Island Dog Rescue ferried the rescued dogs and cats to a farm for safekeeping. Two days after the flight touched down with its feline and canine cargo, Island Dog Rescue posted on its Facebook page that every animal had found a new home.

Other posts on the Facebook page testify to an outpouring of community support for the relief effort. One written the morning after the animals arrived said the organization didn’t need any more donations of food or water.

Even as the region sifted through the damage from Irma, which killed scores of people in addition to flattening houses and knocking out electricity for millions of people, Hurricane Maria churned toward the Virgin Islands and imperiled animals again.

Animals take shelter from Hurricane Irma at Zoo Miami Show all 8 1 /8 Animals take shelter from Hurricane Irma at Zoo Miami Animals take shelter from Hurricane Irma at Zoo Miami Jennifer Nelson, senior keeper at Zoo Miami, leads a cheetah named Koda to a hurricane resistant structure within the zoo, Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017 in Miami. AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee Animals take shelter from Hurricane Irma at Zoo Miami Ryan Martinez, a trainer at Zoo Miami, places an Eurasion Eagle Owl into a crate AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee Animals take shelter from Hurricane Irma at Zoo Miami Flamingos at Zoo Miami, are shown in a temporary enclosure in a hurricane resistant structure within the zoo, (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee) Animals take shelter from Hurricane Irma at Zoo Miami Brown pelicans and an American white pelican take refuge in a shelter ahead of the downfall of Hurricane Irma at the zoo in Miami REUTERS/Adrees Latif Animals take shelter from Hurricane Irma at Zoo Miami An African crested porcupine is moved into a shelter ahead of the downfall of Hurricane Irma at the zoo in Miami, Florida, REUTERS/Adrees Latif Animals take shelter from Hurricane Irma at Zoo Miami A macaw parrot looks out of it's cage after being put into a shelter REUTERS/Adrees Latif Animals take shelter from Hurricane Irma at Zoo Miami An African grey parrot is moved into a shelter ahead of the downfall of Hurricane Irma REUTERS/Adrees Latif Animals take shelter from Hurricane Irma at Zoo Miami Cheetahs are photographed in a shelter ahead of the downfall of Hurricane Irma at the zoo in Miami, Florida, REUTERS/Adrees Latif

Ms Gear wrote on Facebook that a shelter on St Croix was destroyed - bur fortunately, had been emptied of critters.