After we enterted the hotel the staff allowed us a room that they had been keeping for themselves and we placed an ironing board and cupboard against the window to stop the glass blowing backwards if the window smashed. My mum and younger brother went to sleep but I sat in the corridor with my dad and an American man who had a wind up radio. It's difficult but try to imagine you are in total darkness, no electricity works, no lights, no machines and the moonlight had been blotted out by the dense dark storm, it was totally pitch black. The only light we had to guide us was a toy spinning light up Buzz Lightyear character that I had from Disney World and its light was faint. The wind howled for what seemed like an eternity and there were constant smashes and thuds as the storm picked up and tossed around signs, cars, parts of buildings, everyone stayed well away from the windows and anything that could be thrown towards them. After what seemed like an eternity there was a sudden silence to the unrelenting storm, my dad and I nearly cried with happiness! It was over! Unfortunately it was only just beginning, the American man explained to us that we were in the eye of the storm (the middle) in a cone void of wind where the air is still and that the tail end of the storm would be far more powerful. After a few minutes of blissful silence the howling winds whipped up again, louder and more vicious than before and the walls shook at times as objects were thrown into them. I fell asleep finally in the corridor after perhaps an hour of the storm thrashing at the outside of this haven we had found and I woke early in the morning to daylight and silence.
We had done it, we'd endured the storm! As people began to emerge from their hiding spots and safe havens we all lay witness to the power of nature. All around us there were the remnants of houses, shops, uprooted trees, wrecked vehicles, utter and total devastation. When we reached the airport again flights had begun to take off but at a very delayed rate and every window was smashed with large areas damaged beyond use by the amount of rain water that had come through the many smashed windows and glass areas of ceiling. It was chaos everywhere and when we landed back in the UK I was just so glad that my family and I had survived the whole event unscathed. I suppose the moral of my tale is to not underestimate nature and to be thankful and appreciate people, because sometimes even a stranger can help you feel safe and save you, we're all human after all.
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