A couple from Pwllglas have been left stranded after their dream holiday turned into a nightmare.
Victor and Margaret Rollinson signed up for a luxury holiday in sunny Florida but were instead holed up in a hotel with boarded up windows as the region was battered by Hurricane Irma.
Hurricane Irma brought gusts up to 99 miles an hour and submerged huge parts of Florida with ten people killed in the USA.
In the Caribbean, the devastation caused by the hurricane was even greater with 37 killed. The UK Government has pledged £32m in aid. Despite the conditions however, Victor, 69, who helps run Disability Skiing Wales, says they’ve been fortunate.
“We were some of the lucky ones; our power stayed on,” he said.
“The hurricane has passed over. The winds are still gusting at around 60 to 70mph making it quite dangerous to walk round. especially with so many trees.
“We were due to be in Naples on Friday and move to Marco Island yesterday. We were advised not to travel south from Orlando. Thank goodness we didn’t, as Naples is in a really bad way. There are currently no reports from Marco Island. It was evacuated totally on Saturday with storm surges expected of around 15 feet.
“We’ve booked to stay in Orlando for the rest of the trip. They are saying it’ll take months to clear up the devastation here. Now we’re just waiting for our insurance to get back in touch.”
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