An Irishman has told of his family’s relief after their newborn daughter arrived just hours before Hurricane Irma hit Turks and Caicos.
Joe Ryan, his wife Claire, and their two children Oisín and Maebh are staying in a hotel for the time being as they wait for the category four storm to pass.
Hurricane Irma has been “pummelling” south Florida and the Caribbean, with winds up to 165mph leaving a trail of destruction in the Atlantic.
Joe explained to RTE Radio One’s Morning Ireland that the main reason the family moved out of their home was because it is located on low lying land.
BORN BEFORE THE HURRICANE: Story of new born Maebh Ryan born to her Irish mum and dad in Turks and Caicos. Coming up on @morningireland pic.twitter.com/JHiBJLX7Po
— cian mccormack (@cian_mccormack) September 8, 2017
He added:
“We were set up, we had a generator and we had our windows boarded up but we knew if water came in we couldn’t stay there.”
Joe and Claire were eagerly awaiting the birth of their second child but began to grow anxious as the due date passed and the storm started to approach.
He explained:
“The baby was due to come on Saturday, then things happened and it went over its due date.
“We were getting anxious as the storm got closer.
“Claire went into labour yesterday and delivered the baby, we’re so lucky that she didn’t have to stay in hospital.
“Maebh came in just the nick of time. We’re all together now in the hotel.”
The proud dad added that they are “very grateful that the baby came and she’s fit and healthy”.
Joe said:
“It was one of those situations where we were just hoping and praying the child would come on her due date, that didn’t happen, and we got more and more anxious as day after day passed.
“It would have been horrendous for Claire to have to go to hospital on her own, because I would have had to mind Oisín, we were very grateful that the baby came and she’s fit and healthy.
“We’re all in the hotel together and we’re very grateful.”
He added that while the family feel safe where they are now, they are concerned about the aftermath of the storm.
He said:
“We feel safe where we are in the hotel, we’ve no chance of being hit.
“For now we feel good, but this is all new to us.
“This is a storm nobody has witnessed before so we’re hunkered down and we’ll see what happens.
“I’m more concerned about waking up and seeing where we’ll go from here.”
Featured image RTE Morning Ireland/Twitter/Cian McCormack
RELATED ARTICLES
MORE FROM HER
MORE FROM HER
