Thursday, September 11, 2008, 08:00
A CHELTENHAM couple are counting their lucky stars after surviving the
ravages of Hurricane Ike.
Michelle Twitchett and Shaun Sayce were enjoying a two-week break on the
island when the storm hit.
They were forced to shelter in their hotel bathroom with another couple
while the storm raged for several hours around them.
Water cascaded through the door soaking the mattresses they were using
to protect themselves from 150mph winds as they took refuge in their
hotel close to the beach in Holguin.
The couple say they're relieved to be home in Richard's Road after
surviving the "terrifying" ordeal on Sunday.
They returned yesterday, following an eight-hour flight back to Gatwick
airport.
"We've not eaten properly in three days or slept a wink so the jet lag's
even worse that it would have been," said Shaun who works for UCAS.
His partner Michelle, a landscape gardener, said: "The worst thing was
the lack of warning. There was a small notice in reception but that was
it. The only reason we looked at it was because a crowd of people had
gathered otherwise we might not have known. We could have been on the
beach somewhere when it hit.
"Our Thomas Cook rep was brilliant, but she could only get limited
information herself. We think other nationalities staying in our hotel
got a flight out before the hurricane hit, but we didn't have any
option. "Even afterwards we weren't sure if we'd be able to leave. We
had a police escort to the airport through all the devastation.
"There were trees uprooted, cars smashed in. The roof of the hotel was
in bits and there were tiles and rubbish everywhere.
"We were in the hotel bar on Sunday and the sun was shining. Then
suddenly in the afternoon it all changed. The sky went black and the
rain started. We couldn't see across the road it was so heavy. Then the
winds picked up and just got worse and worse.
"When we barricaded ourselves into the bathroom, the noise was the worst
part. We could hear things crashing around outside and we had no
electricity, just four candles.
"The eye of the storm went right through us, which was really eerie
because everything went calm for a while and we managed to get some of
the flooded water out, but then the winds hit again."
The couple are hoping to get some well-earned rest following their ordeal.
Four people died in Cuba as a result of the hurricane – the first
storm-related fatalities for several years.
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