A group of travellers from Cambridge was among the Canadians evacuated from the Dominican Republic on Wednesday, escaping Hurricane Irma.
Irma is the most powerful Atlantic storm ever recorded, with 300 km/h winds.
Several Canadian airlines sent extra flights on Wednesday, rescuing hundreds of Canadian travellers in the path of Irma.
Rescue flights started arriving at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport late Wednesday afternoon – the majority of them from the Dominican Republic.
Susan Khamassi of Cambridge was on one of those flights, arriving from Punta Cana.
She says after a night out, they got back to their hotel rooms around 2 a.m. to find a note on the door that said their flight was tomorrow and they had to leave.
“We’re all panicking, disoriented, trying to pack, “ said Khamassi.
“It was just a nightmare but I’m happy to be home safe, that’s all that matters,” she said.
“It was terrifying,” said Deanna Colomeakos, who was on the same flight home.
“We didn’t know if we were going to be stranded at the hotel,” said Colomeakos.
According to Tony Nguyen, another passenger on the flight, they were told flights were coming to pick them up because the hurricane was coming.
The Category 5 hurricane made landfall in the Dominican Republic Thursday morning.
