Irma Leaves Greensburg Couple Marooned On Devastated Caribbean Island
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Most of Friday was emotionally exhausting for a Westmoreland County woman.
Megan Komar and her husband, Scott, live in Latrobe. It wasn't until Friday night when Megan heard from his sister, Jessica Poole, and her husband, John.
They're from Greensburg, but were vacationing on the island of St. John, part of the U.S. Virgin Islands, when Hurricane Irma tore through and caused devastation.
CBS's Kenneth Craig Reports from Florida --
The Pooles are okay, and they finally made it to Puerto Rico by boat on Friday evening. Komar described St. John as the couple's dream vacation spot.
Komar told KDKA-TV's Ralph Iannotti, "That's their favorite place. They said, 'Let's go there on vacation this year.' This is the third or fourth time they've been there."
Poole's description of St. John, and the hotel where the couple was holed up during the height of the storm, according to her sister, is the stuff that movies are made up of.
"She just said she needed someone to reach out to. She said that everyone was in panic; everyone was starting to get violent. No one saved any food or water," Komar said. "The government dropped off about a dozen small packages, but there were several hundred people around, and that was not really enough."
Several hundred people, including the Pooles, were sheltered in St. John's Grande Bay Hotel. There are many people still holed up there.
Poole told her sister that Irma has left the small island totally devastated.
Other than the hotel where they were marooned for a few days, very few buildings were left standing in one piece.
"They know all the best locations to go. My sister said everything they loved about it [St. John] is totally levelled right now," Komar said.
Megan said her sister and brother-in-law, right now, are trying to book a flight get back home.
Hurricane Irma made landfall in Cuba as a Category 5 storm https://t.co/jWpFZ8MftD pic.twitter.com/bNzZIOZfvq
— CBS News (@CBSNews) September 9, 2017
Churning through Cuba, officials say Irma has regained Category 5 strength as it takes aim at Florida this weekend.
