Local residents feel Irma’s wrath

Honeymooners from Kennett Square experience ‘scary’ conditions of hurricane in Orlando, Fla.

Go figure; a hurricane can certainly alter your honeymoon plans.

Shelly Persaud, a newlywed from Kennett Square, responded to a Daily Local News Facebook post requesting an interview with anyone impacted by Hurricane Irma.

The couple arrived in Orlando, Florida on Sept. 1.

“The storm shifted Sunday and we experienced more rain and high winds than anticipated,” Persaud wrote. “It was scary.

“We have been under a curfew since Sunday at 6 p.m. which will not be lifted until Monday at 6 p.m.”

Persaud said that hotel staff has been very nice, but the newlyweds are “just ready to come home.”

The couple was originally set to fly home today, but their flight out of Orlando was cancelled.

The honeymooners found a flight leaving from Melbourne, Florida with a connecting flight through Charlotte, North Carolina, but the Melbourne to Charlotte flight was cancelled.

The couple will instead leave Orlando at 2 a.m. and drive 7 ½ hours to Charlotte and then board there for a connecting flight to Philadelphia.

West Chester resident Kim Slack owns a home in Naples, Florida, which took a direct hit from Irma.

By Monday afternoon, Slack hadn’t yet heard how his house had fared.

“We did better than we expected,” he said. “I’m not particularly worried.

“We probably got some water inside.”

The home was built in the late ‘80s. The house contains its original windows which are no longer up to code.

Slack talked about another resident in the same

subdivision who lost power, internet and cable television. Several subdivision trees were downed, and the neighbor’s screened in pool cover was also damaged.

“They’re usually the first thing to go,” Slack said. “The winds just tear them apart.”

The Naples Airport is less than two miles from Slack’s house. Slack said that airport staffers reported gusts of up to 130 mph.

“It just picks up debris and makes missiles out of them,” Slack said.