What Irma felt like: 4 harrowing tales of storm survival
Story highlights
- Sheltering during Hurricane Irma was a harrowing experience
- "It was the scariest thing," one storm witness says
(CNN)Fear. Panic. Heartbreak.
Those were the feelings going through the minds of those who hunkered down during Hurricane Irma over the past weekend.
For Jennifer Cooper, that fear came into focus when she watched the storm rip the roof off her home in St. Thomas, and as water flooded into the apartment where she was sheltering.
"When
I saw the roof fly off and then the water started pouring down, that's
the first time I started to really think that we weren't going to make
it," Cooper said. "That's when I almost started to panic. It was the
scariest thing."
Hurricane Irma
rampaged through the Caribbean and parts of Florida, leaving a trail of
destruction and a years-long recovery in its wake.
But
even with Harvey and Irma in the rear-view mirror, the hurricane season
remains in full swing. For those considering staying at home through a
future hurricane, here's a sense of what that's like in a intense
hurricane -- according to those who made it out alive.
'We could feel the wind'
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
A man walks in Caibarien on September 9.
Hide Caption
28 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
A man carries a child through a flooded street in Fort-Liberte, Haiti, on Friday, September 8.
Hide Caption
29 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
A man walks on a St. Martin street covered in debris on September 8.
Hide Caption
30 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
A damaged home is tilted onto its side on the Puerto Rican island of Culebra on Thursday, September 7.
Hide Caption
31 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
A home is surrounded by debris in Nagua, Dominican Republic, on September 7.
Hide Caption
32 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
Irma damage is seen in St. Martin's Orient Bay on September 7.
Hide Caption
33 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
Employees from an electrical company work to clear a fallen tree in Sanchez, Dominican Republic.
Hide Caption
34 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
A woman makes her way through debris in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, on September 7.
Hide Caption
35 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
In this image made from video, damaged houses are seen in St. Thomas on September 7.
Hide Caption
36 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
The storm left widespread destruction on the island of Barbuda on September 7.
Hide Caption
37 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
A flattened home is seen in Nagua, Dominican Republic, on September 7.
Hide Caption
38 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
Nagua residents ride through an area affected by the storm on September 7.
Hide Caption
39 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
Trash and debris is washed ashore in Cap-Haitien, Haiti, on September 7.
Hide Caption
40 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
People walk through damage in Marigot, St. Martin, on September 7.
Hide Caption
41 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
People survey damage in Marigot on September 7.
Hide Caption
42 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
Bluebeard's
Castle, a resort in St. Thomas, was hit hard by Irma. St. Thomas
resident David Velez sent this photo to CNN on September 7.
Hide Caption
43 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
Irma ruined these vehicles in St. Thomas.
Hide Caption
44 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
Waves smash into St. Martin on Wednesday, September 6.
Hide Caption
45 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
A man looks at a vehicle turned upside down in the British territory of Anguilla.
Hide Caption
46 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
An aerial view of St. Martin on September 6.
Hide Caption
47 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
Damaged cars are seen on a St. Martin beach on September 6.
Hide Caption
48 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
A boat is washed onto shore in St. Martin.
Hide Caption
49 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
Cars are piled up in Marigot on September 6.
Hide Caption
50 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
A man walks past damaged buildings in St. Martin on September 6.
Hide Caption
51 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
A car is flipped onto its side in Marigot.
Hide Caption
52 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
Broken palm trees are scattered on a Marigot beach on September 6.
Hide Caption
53 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
Irma floods a beach in Marigot on September 6.
Hide Caption
54 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
An
aerial photo shows the devastation in Road Town, capital of Tortola,
the largest and most populated of the British Virgin Islands, on
Wednesday, September 13. Hurricane Irma devastated the Caribbean island
and others in the region.
Hide Caption
1 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson talks to a resident of Anguilla during a visit on September 13.
Hide Caption
2 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
People
collect food that was delivered by emergency workers in the Sandy
Ground area of Marigot, St. Martin, on Tuesday, September 12.
Hide Caption
3 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
Buildings are destroyed in St. Martin on September 12.
Hide Caption
4 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
French President Emmanuel Macron shakes hands with St. Martin residents during a visit to the island on September 12.
Hide Caption
5 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
French soldiers patrol St. Martin on September 12.
Hide Caption
6 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
A person works to clean up a street September 12 after Hurricane Irma flooded parts of Havana, Cuba.
Hide Caption
7 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
A man makes repairs in Havana on September 12.
Hide Caption
8 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
This Marigot church was among the buildings destroyed in the storm.
Hide Caption
9 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
Cubans affected by Hurricane Irma line up to collect drinking water in Isabela de Sagua, Cuba, on Monday, September 11.
Hide Caption
10 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
Dutch King Willem-Alexander, front right, tours damage in St. Maarten on September 11.
Hide Caption
11 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
A palm tree sticks out of a pool on the French side of St. Martin on September 11.
Hide Caption
12 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
A
woman stands next to her water-logged belongings that had been laid out
to dry in front of her home in Isabela de Sagua on September 11.
Hide Caption
13 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
People line up for supplies in St. Martin on September 11.
Hide Caption
14 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
The skeleton of a boat drifts in St. Martin's Simpson Bay on September 11.
Hide Caption
15 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
People salvage material from the remains of a house in Isabela de Sagua on September 11.
Hide Caption
16 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
Members of the British Army provide support on Tortola, one of the British Virgin Islands.
Hide Caption
17 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
A woman carries a dog at an airport checkpoint in St. Martin on September 11.
Hide Caption
18 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
People wade through a flooded street as a wave crashes in Havana on Sunday, September 10.
Hide Caption
19 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
Two men search through the rubble of their St. Martin restaurant on September 10.
Hide Caption
20 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
People make their way through debris in the Cojimar neighborhood of Havana on September 10.
Hide Caption
21 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
People board a plane leaving St. Martin on September 10.
Hide Caption
22 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
A man wades through a flooded street in Havana on September 10.
Hide Caption
23 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
An overview of Havana shows flooded streets on Saturday, September 9.
Hide Caption
24 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
A woman surveys flooding in Havana on September 9.
Hide Caption
25 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
A boat rests in a cemetery after Irma tore through Marigot, St. Martin.
Hide Caption
26 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
Residents return home after Irma passed through Caibarien, Cuba, on September 9.
Hide Caption
27 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
A man walks in Caibarien on September 9.
Hide Caption
28 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
A man carries a child through a flooded street in Fort-Liberte, Haiti, on Friday, September 8.
Hide Caption
29 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
A man walks on a St. Martin street covered in debris on September 8.
Hide Caption
30 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
A damaged home is tilted onto its side on the Puerto Rican island of Culebra on Thursday, September 7.
Hide Caption
31 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
A home is surrounded by debris in Nagua, Dominican Republic, on September 7.
Hide Caption
32 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
Irma damage is seen in St. Martin's Orient Bay on September 7.
Hide Caption
33 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
Employees from an electrical company work to clear a fallen tree in Sanchez, Dominican Republic.
Hide Caption
34 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
A woman makes her way through debris in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, on September 7.
Hide Caption
35 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
In this image made from video, damaged houses are seen in St. Thomas on September 7.
Hide Caption
36 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
The storm left widespread destruction on the island of Barbuda on September 7.
Hide Caption
37 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
A flattened home is seen in Nagua, Dominican Republic, on September 7.
Hide Caption
38 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
Nagua residents ride through an area affected by the storm on September 7.
Hide Caption
39 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
Trash and debris is washed ashore in Cap-Haitien, Haiti, on September 7.
Hide Caption
40 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
People walk through damage in Marigot, St. Martin, on September 7.
Hide Caption
41 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
People survey damage in Marigot on September 7.
Hide Caption
42 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
Bluebeard's
Castle, a resort in St. Thomas, was hit hard by Irma. St. Thomas
resident David Velez sent this photo to CNN on September 7.
Hide Caption
43 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
Irma ruined these vehicles in St. Thomas.
Hide Caption
44 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
Waves smash into St. Martin on Wednesday, September 6.
Hide Caption
45 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
A man looks at a vehicle turned upside down in the British territory of Anguilla.
Hide Caption
46 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
An aerial view of St. Martin on September 6.
Hide Caption
47 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
Damaged cars are seen on a St. Martin beach on September 6.
Hide Caption
48 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
A boat is washed onto shore in St. Martin.
Hide Caption
49 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
Cars are piled up in Marigot on September 6.
Hide Caption
50 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
A man walks past damaged buildings in St. Martin on September 6.
Hide Caption
51 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
A car is flipped onto its side in Marigot.
Hide Caption
52 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
Broken palm trees are scattered on a Marigot beach on September 6.
Hide Caption
53 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
Irma floods a beach in Marigot on September 6.
Hide Caption
54 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
An
aerial photo shows the devastation in Road Town, capital of Tortola,
the largest and most populated of the British Virgin Islands, on
Wednesday, September 13. Hurricane Irma devastated the Caribbean island
and others in the region.
Hide Caption
1 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson talks to a resident of Anguilla during a visit on September 13.
Hide Caption
2 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
People
collect food that was delivered by emergency workers in the Sandy
Ground area of Marigot, St. Martin, on Tuesday, September 12.
Hide Caption
3 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
Buildings are destroyed in St. Martin on September 12.
Hide Caption
4 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
French President Emmanuel Macron shakes hands with St. Martin residents during a visit to the island on September 12.
Hide Caption
5 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
French soldiers patrol St. Martin on September 12.
Hide Caption
6 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
A person works to clean up a street September 12 after Hurricane Irma flooded parts of Havana, Cuba.
Hide Caption
7 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
A man makes repairs in Havana on September 12.
Hide Caption
8 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
This Marigot church was among the buildings destroyed in the storm.
Hide Caption
9 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
Cubans affected by Hurricane Irma line up to collect drinking water in Isabela de Sagua, Cuba, on Monday, September 11.
Hide Caption
10 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
Dutch King Willem-Alexander, front right, tours damage in St. Maarten on September 11.
Hide Caption
11 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
A palm tree sticks out of a pool on the French side of St. Martin on September 11.
Hide Caption
12 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
A
woman stands next to her water-logged belongings that had been laid out
to dry in front of her home in Isabela de Sagua on September 11.
Hide Caption
13 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
People line up for supplies in St. Martin on September 11.
Hide Caption
14 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
The skeleton of a boat drifts in St. Martin's Simpson Bay on September 11.
Hide Caption
15 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
People salvage material from the remains of a house in Isabela de Sagua on September 11.
Hide Caption
16 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
Members of the British Army provide support on Tortola, one of the British Virgin Islands.
Hide Caption
17 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
A woman carries a dog at an airport checkpoint in St. Martin on September 11.
Hide Caption
18 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
People wade through a flooded street as a wave crashes in Havana on Sunday, September 10.
Hide Caption
19 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
Two men search through the rubble of their St. Martin restaurant on September 10.
Hide Caption
20 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
People make their way through debris in the Cojimar neighborhood of Havana on September 10.
Hide Caption
21 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
People board a plane leaving St. Martin on September 10.
Hide Caption
22 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
A man wades through a flooded street in Havana on September 10.
Hide Caption
23 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
An overview of Havana shows flooded streets on Saturday, September 9.
Hide Caption
24 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
A woman surveys flooding in Havana on September 9.
Hide Caption
25 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
A boat rests in a cemetery after Irma tore through Marigot, St. Martin.
Hide Caption
26 of 54
Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean
Residents return home after Irma passed through Caibarien, Cuba, on September 9.
Hide Caption
27 of 54
Dr. Lachlan Macleay and his wife Kaiann Macleay hunkered down in a St. Martin resort when Irma hit.
When
they first felt the rising pressure in the room, they moved a mattress
up against the large sliding glass windows and put a dresser behind
that. They sheltered in the bathroom away from the gusting winds, a
decision that quickly proved wise.
"We
were in the bathroom for probably about 45 minutes, and the windows
exploded in the bedroom," Lachlan Macleay told CNN's Erin Burnett. "We
could feel the wind coming down the hallway through the kitchen."
But
soon, the bathroom roof started to flex and water began coming through
the cracks in the ceiling. So they moved between the refrigerator and
the front door and stood in the door frame for the next three to four
hours, even as water slowly flooded the room.
"At
that point, there was about 5 inches of water on the floor where we
were standing," Kaiann Macleay said. "The whole room was filled with
water because the roof was leaking, and there was glass everywhere from
the sliding glass doors. But the door frame against the metal door was
really the safest spot."
The couple survived through the storm. In the immediate aftermath, Dr. Macleay helped those injured on the Caribbean island.
But
the chaotic period after the storm, in which they watched people begin
looting and stealing, was even more frightening. Wary of looters, Dr.
Macleay and others at the resort decided to stay up through the night on
patrol with a machete on hand, just in case.
"I
was terrified. I was obviously totally relieved and grateful to be
alive," Kaiann Macleay said. "But when I saw the devastation, then I was
faced with the reality that we were in a really, really bad situation,
and it was terrifying."
'The last tooth in the mouth of a bum'
Michael Benson, 65, had prepared for a hurricane like Irma years ago.
Benson, a resident of St. John in the US Virgin Islands, told Reuters
that after Hurricane Marilyn hit the islands in 1995, he and his wife
decided to reinforce their shower. The shower was not attached to the
rest of the house, making it an ideal hurricane shelter in case another
major storm tore into their home.
"I
told (the man who installed the shower), 'If the hurricane takes the
rest of my house, I want this shower sticking up out of that slab like
the last tooth in the mouth of a bum,'" Benson said. "And sure enough,
that's what's left. That one shower sticking up."
He
told Reuters he felt like he's been "fired" by Hurricane Irma. His
house, his business, and both his vehicles were destroyed, strewn up and
down a nearby hill. But he was thankful that he was still alive.
"We
listened to 200 mile an hour winds, with gusts to 225 mph," he said.
"It's the most frightening thing I ever saw in my life, bar none."
'It was a badass hurricane'
Rick Freedman checks his neighbor's damage from Hurricane Irma on Marco Island, Florida.
Not everyone was quite as fearful, though.
Zack
Forrest, 26, and his roommate Krock Indigo, 22, live on Marco Island, a
barrier island off southwest Florida near Naples. They decided to ignore a mandatory evacuation order and stay in their apartment for Hurricane Irma, and afterward, Forrest said he expected more out of the storm.
"It was not a nuclear hurricane," Forrest told CNN. "But it was a badass hurricane."
Forrest
came to Marco Island from Tulsa, Oklahoma, so he was familiar with
tornadoes. The hurricane winds were similar, but lasted longer, he said.
"It
was loud. It was scary," Forrest said. "The storm was really intense,
it was like a tornado that lasted for an hour and a half."
'That's when fear set in'
Jennifer Cooper had an up-close view of the destruction of her life in the Caribbean's St. Thomas.
She
had sheltered in a bottom apartment for the storm, and when the eyewall
hit, the roof of her home flew off and landed on her car. About 30
minutes later, the roof blew off of the car and went down the hill.
"That's
when fear set in," she said. "That and when the roof blew off, that's
when the bottom apartment started to flood, and we had water up to our
ankles. And that's when I got really scared."
Cooper,
a nurse working at a hospital in the US Virgin Islands, said she plans
to move back to Washington, D.C. with her family now that the storm
destroyed everything.
"There is
nothing left of my home right now. We have one wall left. The roof is
gone. All of the furniture is gone. The car is gone," she said. "So at
this time, it's just the kids and the dogs and my husband."
No comments:
Post a Comment