Local family feels brunt of Hurricane Irma
By Bart Moss for the FCT
Klaudia Harris is an aspiring meteorologist and loves to travel. She also became somewhat of a minor celebrity last week as a go-to first-hand reporter of Hurricane Irma for many local and national news networks.
Harris, along with her mother, Jill Boatwright, stepfather, Chad Boatwright and boyfriend Allen Gaston, went on vacation to the island of St. John’s in the Virgin Islands. Just two days after arriving, they were preparing to take a direct hit from one of the worst hurricanes in recent memory – the Category 5 monster Hurricane Irma.
“There was no way to get off the island,” said Harris. “There were no plane tickets for any amount of money. They closed the port, which controlled the airport.
“I felt scared and trapped. It was terrifying for it to be so clear and calm and knowing this thing was coming and not knowing what to expect.
“We just bought some of the basics – bread, milk, water, cereal, sandwich meat. Just enough to survive the thing.”
Harris said they moved to a resort on top of a hill for shelter and started befriending other tourists riding out the storm.
“The island we were on, St. John, looked like a war zone. It was the real deal. I don’t want to be in anything like that again,” said Harris. “A huge roof came flying at our villa, and two minutes later, our door shattered. Chad and Allen had to take turns holding the door in the bedroom so the door wouldn’t fly off. The barometric pressure dropped so low that I thought our ears were going to explode. It flooded our room from the front to the back.”
Harris, who was celebrating her 19th birthday on the trip, said it would be a birthday to remember.
“This was the worst birthday ever because I didn’t think I was going to make it past the day after my 19th birthday,” said Harris. “I was scared for my life.”
Harris and her family were stranded on the island for three days after Irma has passed them by.
“We had food, water and shelter,” said Harris. “It was more than the locals had. They were wiped out.”
The Westin Resort arranged for a ferry to pick up their stranded guest and take them to Puerto Rico, a two and a half hour ride across the ocean.
“When we got to Puerto Rico, we had to go through customs, and they shuttled us to San Juan, where we got a hotel,” Harris said. “We were supposed to be there for a couple of days, but Delta Airlines brought in a big boy plane and added 55 extra seats, and we able to get back to Atlanta, where my dad (Jason) picked us up.”
Harris, who has always dreamed of being a meteorologist, said the experience has dampened her passion but has given her a whole new respect for nature’s fury.
“My passion is still there,” said Harris. “I’m just more wary about hurricanes and hope I never have to experience another one. I will probably never be the same.
“I already have been having nightmares, and my anxiety is ridiculous, and I can’t stop thinking about all the people suffering on the island. I wish I could do more to help them.”
Ironically, Harris and her family arrived home last Sunday night while Irma was barreling up the west coast of Florida headed for northwest Alabama sometime late Monday. While they got to see Irma at full strength in the Caribbean, they will get to see her die a slow death over Alabama.
