Sanibel couple stranded in St. Thomas amid Hurricane Irma

SANIBEL, Fla. Hurricane Irma brought devastation to a Sanibel couple not once, but twice.

Lynn and Dave Padgett traveled on Aug. 24 to St. Thomas and planned to stay for a few weeks to check on a few condos they own at the Sapphire Beach Resort.

The couple asked the locals for comforting advice when they found out Irma would hit the island as a Category 5 storm, but not many seemed concerned of what was ahead.

“We were all nervous. We didn’t know what to expect,” Lynn said.

The couple attempted to return home, but all the airlines had been shut down.

“Things started picking up and it was getting windier and windier and windier,” Dave said.

During the height of the storm, water began to seep into their three-story condo.

“For the next five and a half hours I tried to keep the door from blowing in as 180 mph winds were howling outside,” Dave  said. “It was the most horrendous feeling and sounds I had ever heard in my entire life.”

After the storm passed, the couple stepped outside to view the devastation Irma left behind.

“There’s bodies everywhere, the hospitals destroyed, the two post offices are destroyed, the police stations destroyed,” Dave said.

After days without communication, Dave and Lynn boarded a Norwegian cruise ship that pulled up to the port and took hundreds of people off the island for free.

“We are thinking oh my gosh we got hit in St. Thomas and our home may get destroyed,” Dave said.

Two days later, the couple returned to Sanibel and discovered only minor damages to their home.

The Padgetts are planning to return with supplies to St.Thomas once flights are made available.