A couple from Hull have opened up about their terrifying experience of Hurricane Ian whilst on holiday in Florida.
Last month, Chris and Sue Lawson flew across the Atlantic to visit one of Chris' lifetime friend, an American exchange student he met in a Hull Co-op, in Lee County, Florida.
The couple made their journey on September 25 despite news of the impending hurricane which was about to hit the state but on course to hit the east coast of Miami.
Chris, 79, and Sue, 63, seemingly thought they were evade any danger as they headed to the west coast of the state near Fort Myers - roughly 160 miles from Miami.
However, Hurricane Ian altered course which caused devastation as the death toll reached over 100, homes and businesses were completely destroyed as families lost everything following the destruction.
Their plight worsened after an initial two days of rain which Chris described as "no worse than in Hull" before he added that "every phone in the house went off with an evacuation warning" and they evacuated to a gym.
Chris, speaking to Hull Live, said: "We were a bit bewildered because the wind and rain wasn't too bad at this point but decided to go to the Sheriff's office to ask for advice.
"He gave us the choice between going to an arena or a community centre and we chose the latter. We arrived at the large sports hall, which had 300 people there with their pets and belongings in bags.
"We were there for a day and a half in awful conditions and only bottles of water to drink, so we made the decision to drive back to the house and brave the weather there. As it got later, you couldn't even see through the rain and the wind was screaming - we were waiting for the roof to be ripped off."
As Hurricane Ian raged through, the local area shut down as power was cut and no hot food or clean water were available for residents. This lasted for four days.
Chris continued: "For four days, we were in complete darkness. Without power, we were forced to wash with baby wipes in the dark. We could hear the steel shutters on the outside of the house being ripped off but compared to the neighbours, we fared quite well.
"As the hurricane came to end finally, all we could see was palm trees knocked down, homes smashed to pieces and boats on a nearby lake were up in the trees. We passed a huge 7/11 store that was just in splinters, nowhere was open to get food or petrol, and no card machines were working either.
"Funnily enough, the only place open was a McDonald's! It was our first hot meal in four days."
Following the devastation, Chris was overwhelmed by the community spirit as they tried to rebuild their destroyed town. He got emotional as he recounted the events and praised the sheriffs and rangers for being "absolutely fantastic".
Chris added that he and his wife attended a packed church on the following Sunday and admitted that he had "never experienced" what he had felt during the service.
The couple said they intend on visiting their friends every year as a result of their frightening experience and have donated money to the affected families to help get them back on track.
