Im living in St. Maarten. We just had hurricane Irma Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. I cannot even explain the pure terror as the huge monstrosity started to pass through. But nothing could prepare you for the wall of the eye of the hurricane. Wind speeds tore past 300mph. The sound is indescribable. We lost our hurricane shutters, our sliding glass doors, some interior doors, an interior wall and parts of our roof. As my fiancé stood there holding the wall up from breaking loose and hitting us, the wall to the bathroom was swaying back and forth. All furniture is gone, our pool is a swamp, roof is severely damaged, no power, no water, no food. Let me tell you the situation here currently. No one knows the death toll. It is said to be over 1,000 already without search and rescue going out EVEN STILL! . We were all panicked preparing for José. Thank the Lord it took a swerve and missed us last minute. All hotels have been raided at gun point. Homes are being taken over at gun point. There is a civil war going on, races against races. We are out of food and water. No electricity. No water. No one is allowed on street. The jail broke in the storm and all inmates are out. All stores have been raided. No gas stations are standing. The French hospital is NOWHERE TO BE FOUND. Floors of most of the hotels and resorts are missing. All those people dead. Towns are flattened. Some are under water. Boats are laying in the road. A bardge is washed up in Philipsburg beach. Just to name a few of the issues at hand. There have been only a handful of secretive evacuations. People cannot leave or enter the island. It is a war zone here. I was so scared I would give birth in the storm.

We almost entirely lost the wall he was holding up...

I have no idea where this seat came from.. neighbors roof tiles.. a piece of a shutter, debris in the pool...

Roof tiles that went flying through the window and onto the pool deck.

After losing a shutter debris went flying into our home..

Our wall, steel unforced is lifted and shifted from the foundation...

No way to drive..

Floors destroyed. 150 dead from this hotel alone right now..

Floors blown out here. No known number of casualties..

Philipsburg..

Our business.. destroyed.

No leaves or branches remain on trees..

I cannot describe the horror and loss. But I am grateful beyond measure to be alive and to be one of the few with internet access.

UPDATE:

It is really sad to see how some of you can be so rude. To the 99% of you that sent warmth and prayers I cannot thank you enough. Being on a small island and having little to no communication to hide we know and care about has made us feel so lonely and scared. I am still here awaiting my turn to get out. American military has taken over the SXM airport 🎉 so things are moving much faster now. King Alexander of Holland flew in yesterday and paid his respects. It was very comforting. They started with cleaning the streets of debris the past couple of days. The power is beginning to come back in a couple streets. No water yet and I have not yet seen any water or food supplies. 1 week down, unknown how much longer to go. The local government has lost power and the Dutch military and police have full control. It is beginning to feel much safer. The French side is still very unstable and we are not allowed to cross the border any more. It is too dangerous. More later.

UPDATE: sept 15 (11 days in)

300kph (KILOMETERS) not mph. My bad. Sustained maximum winds ~185-190mph with maximum gusts at 355kpm, or, ~220mph. For those who are looking to bash me about my sources. I'm American so I am used to typing mph by we use kilometers here. Shoot me 🤷🏼‍♀️

Anyhow, on a brighter note, things are looking very good here. We are picking up supplies we had shipped over from Grenada today. We are excited to do our share of helping our island! Water and electricity are still not reachable by 75% or more of the island. Soon though! Some businesses have already begun to reopen. They're just waiting for power and running water! Most of the foreigners are evacuated. Royal Caribbean is sending a cruise ship this morning to take 2500 people to America. All of my friends, family and employees have been accounted for as of yesterday. We can't ask for more. More later

UPDATE: sept 15

Our boat from Grenada finally arrived today! Tons of supplies were distributed. It felt soooo good. We packed everything into cars and began distributing to those in need. Water, food, clothes, bedding, prenatal care supplies, baby supplies, feminine hygiene supplies, soap, deodorant, shoes, gasoline, diesel, and so so so much more! We hope to be able to donate again. Now that stores are opening up again we plan to use the funds that we have raised to help people without money to pay for food and home goods. Wish I took more photos. It was an entire hour and a half of unloading boxes of supplies! More later all!

The lovely Shadowfax catamaran from Grenada. If you're ever in the area on vacation give Roger a shoutout for helping St. Maarten. One love ✌🏼

UPDATE: Sept 19

I was able to take the last KLM 747 out of SXM to Aruba with my son. The rest of the family had to stay behind. I hope to see them in a week or two here with us. It's been so difficult as Maria is passing them now. In SXM the power and water was restored in our area finally after 14 days today! 2 weeks! I am so glad they have power and water now. It gives me some comfort while temporarily separated. Now I just pray that Maria doesn't take too much of a bad toll on what remains of St. Maarten. It became a category 5 hurricane very quickly and slowed down in speed so it has been hanging over the island for a long time. There will be a lot of flooding. I hope tomorrow when I wake up I get ok news. More later-

Sept 24:

One week after evacuation it feels so good to feel normal again but I miss my home. The sadness sinks in when you realize there will never be a return and the memories have come to an end. Still waiting for my fiancé to meet up with me here. Really hoping this baby doesn't come before he gets here. St. Maarten is starting to get things back up and running. It's slow progress but it is progress! Relief aid is still being brought in! Every time relief comes the island is so full of joy. It comes slowly but it is greatly appreciated. Almost a month now. Power and water still off and on, the rations being shared to neighborhoods. Sadly my fiancé gets his share only after midnight. We all pray for PR.. they have been hit with similar destruction as we have from Irma. We do not like seeing our neighbors in distress either. America is doing a good job with their relief. 👏🏼