A Florida couple tried their best to escape Hurricane Irma, the deadly storm that has killed more than 20 across the Caribbean within the last week.
Gretchen and Peter Bogacz of Sarasota, Florida, traveled to the Caribbean island of Saba last week for their 20th-anniversary.
They left their 12-year-old daughter, Isabella, with her grandparents during their getaway, which turned into a nightmare as Irma loomed over the Caribbean.
According to Gretchen’s sister, Natalie Grinnell, the couple tried to get home as early as possible.
Gretchen and Peter Bogacz (pictured) of Sarasota, Florida, tried their best to escape Hurricane Irma, the deadly storm that has killed more than 20 across the Caribbean within the last week. The pair traveled to the Caribbean island of Saba last week for their 20th-anniversary
They left their 12-year-old daughter, Isabella (left), with her grandparents during their getaway, which turned into a nightmare as Irma loomed over the Caribbean. According to Gretchen’s sister, Natalie Grinnell, the couple tried to get home as early as possible
On Wednesday, Peter and Gretchen landed in St Martin (pictured), but Irma followed them to the island
‘They tried to fly home early when Irma appeared, but only got as far as St Martin,’ Grinnell told the New York Post.
On Wednesday, Peter and Gretchen landed in St Martin, but Irma followed them to the island, and they are now barred from entering Sarasota, Florida, as Irma touches down on the Sunshine State.
The couple are now stranded on St Martin with more than 5,000 other Americans.
‘We are OK,’ the couple texted the Post on Saturday night.
‘Food running low. They have been flying some relief flights but nothing for Americans.’
‘It’s like a war zone here,’ they said.
‘The looting is awful and things are getting more violent. We just want to get out. The US needs to help.’
Gretchen and Peter are currently staying at the Hotel L’Esplanade — where there’s no power or electricity.
‘We hope to fly Monday to Atlanta,’ they wrote.
The couple are now stranded on St Martin with more than 5,000 other Americans
They are now barred from entering Sarasota, Florida, as Irma touches down on the Sunshine State (pictured on Sunday morning)
The US State Department said Saturday that 1,200 Americans had been evacuated from the Caribbean island St Martin/St Maarten, but nearly 5,000 Americans remain on the island days after Irma’s destructive hit.
Hurricane Irma began its assault on Florida early Sunday with the storm’s northern eyewall reaching the lower Florida Keys as a powerful Category 4 storm.
Irma lashed the area with maximum sustained winds near 130 mph and the US National Hurricane Center said it was expected to remain a powerful storm as it moved through the Florida Keys and near the state’s west coast.
As of 7am Sunday, the hurricane was centered about 15 miles south-southeast of Key West, Florida, and was moving northwest at 8mph.
The Key West International Airport measured sustained winds of 50mph with a gust of up to 70 mph, according to the hurricane center.
Tens of thousands of people huddling in shelters watched for updates as the storm swung to the west, now potentially sparing Tampa and Miami the catastrophic head-on blow forecasters had been warning about for days.
In the Tampa Bay area, access to all of Pinellas County’s barrier islands, including the popular spring break destination of Clearwater Beach, was shut off.
The leading edge of the immense storm bent palm trees and spit rain across South Florida, knocking out power to more than 430,000 homes and businesses, as the eye approached Key West.
Florida Gov Rick Scott had warned residents in the state’s evacuation zones Saturday that ‘this is your last chance to make a good decision’. About 6.4 million people were told to flee.
But because the storm is 350 to 400 miles wide, the entire Florida peninsula was exposed.
Forecasters said the greater Miami area of 6 million people could still get life-threatening hurricane winds and storm surge of 4 to 6 feet.
Irma was at one time the most powerful hurricanes ever recorded in the open Atlantic with a peak wind speed of 185mph last week.
It left more than 20 people dead across the Caribbean and as it moved north over the Gulf of Mexico’s warm water of nearly 90 degrees, it was expected to regain strength.
Meteorologists predicted Irma would plow into the Tampa Bay area Monday morning.
The area has not been struck by a major hurricane since 1921, when its population was about 10,000, National Hurricane Center spokesman Dennis Feltgen said.
The US State Department said Saturday that 1,200 Americans (pictured during evacuation) had been evacuated from the Caribbean island St Martin/St Maarten, but nearly 5,000 Americans remain on the island days after Irma’s destructive hit
Residents assess the damage after the passage of Hurricane Irma in Marigot, on the island of St Martin on Saturday
Now around 3 million people live there. The latest course also still threatens Naples’ mansion- and yacht-lined canals, Sun City Center’s retirement homes, and Sanibel Island’s shell-filled beaches.
Irma’s course change caught many off guard and triggered a major round of last-minute evacuations in the Tampa area.
Many businesses had yet to protect windows with plywood or hurricane shutters.
Nearly the entire Florida coastline remained under hurricane watches and warnings, and the latest projections could shift again, sparing or savaging other parts of the state.
Forecasters warned of storm surge as high as 15 feet.
‘This is going to sneak up on people,’ said Jamie Rhome, head of the hurricane center’s storm surge unit.
The westward shift prompted Pinellas County, home to St. Petersburg, to order 260,000 people to leave, while Georgia scaled back evacuation orders for some coastal residents.
Motorists heading inland from the Tampa area were allowed to drive on the shoulders.
At Germain Arena not far from Fort Myers, on Florida’s southwestern corner, thousands waited in a snaking line for hours to gain a spot in the hockey venue-turned-shelter.
Irma left more than 20 people dead across the Caribbean and as it moved north over the Gulf of Mexico’s warm water of nearly 90 degrees, it was expected to regain strength
Given its mammoth size and strength and its course up the peninsula, Hurricane Irma (depicted on this weather map) could prove one of the most devastating hurricanes ever to hit Florida, and inflict damage on a scale not seen here in 25 years
‘We’ll never get in,’ Jamilla Bartley lamented in the parking lot.
The governor activated all 7,000 members of the Florida National Guard, and 30,000 guardsmen from elsewhere were on standby.
In the Orlando area, Walt Disney World, Universal Studios and Sea World all closed Saturday. The Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa and Orlando airports also shut down.
Given its mammoth size and strength and its course up the peninsula, it could prove one of the most devastating hurricanes ever to hit Florida, and inflict damage on a scale not seen here in 25 years.
Hurricane Andrew smashed into suburban Miami in 1992 with winds topping 165mph, damaging or blowing apart over 125,000 homes.
The damage in Florida totaled $26 billion, and at least 40 people died.