MY BRUSH WITH DEADLY STORM
CARDIFF PHOTOGRAPHER RECOUNTS NIGHT OF FEAR AT ISLAND RESORT AS HURRICANE IRMA SMASHES THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
A WELSH photographer on holiday in the Dominican Republic has described being locked in a theatre building with other tourists to shelter from Hurricane Irma.
Huw Evans, who runs a picture agency in Cardiff, was at the start of a two-week holiday on the island when he learnt the Category 5 storm was heading their way.
Relief efforts were under way in the Caribbean yesterday after islands in the region were devastated by the storm.
By last night the hurricane had killed at least 14 people, and the government of the Turks and Caicos Islands declared a national shutdown as the hurricane continued its destructive path.
Huw told the Echo how he and fellow tourists were told they had to be evacuated from their resort and travel for three and a half hours to the capital Santo Domingo.
That plan changed and they decided to stay at their resort in the north of the island.
“Staff at the hotel realised it was too busy in the capital, so they decided it would be safer for us to stay put,” said Huw, from Cyncoed.
“The staff were unbelievably amazing. They were going around cutting loose branches off the palm trees, taking down old trees and throwing all the sunbeds and tables into the pool to store them. Then they found all these mattresses from somewhere. I have no idea where, because they weren’t taken from our rooms.
“They laid them out in the theatre at the resort and started boarding up all the windows and securing the doors.”
In the hours before the hurricane was due to hit, the tourists were told to leave their rooms, take a few possessions and be in the theatre by 5pm.
“We stayed in one corner of the room with about nine other British people, including a young couple from Wrexham who are here on their honeymoon,” he said.
“We knew it was really serious when we saw the staff boarding up the windows and putting these large pieces of wood across the doors, the sort you would have found in castles in medieval times.
“After setting up our area, we went outside to have a look and could see the sky getting darker and darker. I have been sailing in the area before and know how quickly the weather can change.
“It was very quiet outside and quite eerie. About midnight they told us all to come in and everything was boarded up.
“We could hear the wind picking up and that was when it started to get a bit scary. You realise that a Category 5 storm can bring down buildings and I kept looking at the roof in case it was going to come off. Some children were crying and there were a lot of scared people.
“The staff were amazing because out of nowhere they appeared with sandwiches and drinks for us all. We sat it out through the night and then at 8am they opened the doors.”
When Huw went outside he saw a scene of devastation, with debris everywhere, trees upended and seawood strewn all over the beach.
But they were fortunate that the storm had veered off in a different direction, so they didn’t experience the worst of the winds that hit islands like Barbuda.
“When you hear local people say things like ‘God help us,’ you know it is not good, but we were safe and well looked after,” Huw said.
“We were very, very lucky but now we have to watch and see what happens with the next storm and see what way it goes.”