PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — The website reads: "Water flows through, under and around Sandals South Coast." Those features were just what three families had in mind for their annual October trip to the islands. A significant storm was possible, but unlikely.
"So we had heard about a tropical depression," said Jessica Pope. "We knew, but we travel the Caribbean every October. So we do this every year and never had this problem. So when we left on Tuesday, we knew there was a tropical depression. By Thursday here, they started saying this is going to be a major event."
As the storm transitioned from an inconvenience to unsurvivable in a matter of hours, the families started looking for flights to head back home.
"They were on Delta flights," Pope said. "They couldn't get any flights out. We were on American, and by the time we started looking for flights, prices were like $3,000 a ticket. We found one that had a ticket for like a few hundred dollars, and it was one flight. And so I would I had to leave my husband, or we would leave our friends. There was nothing we could get six of us on and go."
Once it was too late, the vacationers from the 757 say all guests were moved to a single building, while non-essential personnel were sent home.
"Everybody's on the second, third or fourth [floors]," Pope said. "They have our rooms stocked with food, stuff that can stay in our little refrigerators, lots of snacks, plenty of water, toiletries. After 11 a.m. today, we went on lockdown last night, and they told us today we could go out until 11, but their staff is staying here with us, the ones that are helping us."
The families could ask for your thoughts and prayers as they ride out the storm. Instead, they are asking you to pray for the people of Jamaica.
"We know that we're in a much better situation than their families, I'm sure," Pope said. "And where their homes are. I mean, we're up high and in a secure building that has a generator. I mean, it's the people in Jamaica [who] need prayers now, but the staff here has been amazing."