Irish mother and daughter stranded during Dominican Republic hurricane evacuated

Residents replace a home's roof that was torn off by Hurricane Fiona in the low-income neighborhood of Kosovo in Veron de Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Picture: AP Photo/Ricardo Hernandez)

A Carlow mother and daughter who were stranded in the Dominican Republic when Hurricane Fiona made landfall on Monday have been successfully evacuated.

Torrential rain of up to 15 inches was forecast for parts of the Dominican Republic after the hurricane made landfall. Puerto Rico has also been badly hit by the storm.

Zara Doyle and her mother Joanne had been on holiday in the Caribbean country since Friday of last week to celebrate her 21st birthday.

The pair from Graiguecullen in Carlow town were caught out by the hurricane as it had been forecasted that it would be a tropical storm off the coast.

However, it was upgraded to a hurricane category one by the National Weather Centre.

Currently stranded in #DominicanRepublic by #HurricaneFiona Absoloutely terrifying and no chance of even leaving the island before Wednesday. Any support for 2 Irish stuck abroad? @Independent_ie @rte @rtenews @RTELateLateShow @TodayFM @kclr96fm @beat102103 @CarlowWeather pic.twitter.com/JdRv0dXcq1

— Zara Doyle (@zzara266) September 19, 2022

Up to 30 inches of rain was forecast for the eastern part of the country where the pair were staying in the Secrets Cap Cana resort just outside of Punta Cana which was in the eye of the hurricane.

The veterinary student posting on Twitter late on Monday night said that they along with other English and American tourists were being evacuated from their hotel but that it was not without its problems.

She said: “Standing three hours in the exposed hotel lobby waiting to be evacuated due to structurally unsafe buildings. The ceiling lights and glass barricade fell (everywhere). One lady already has broken her leg waiting in the queue. Long night ahead.” 

Ms Doyle revealed on Monday when speaking on KCLRFM radio station that they would not be able to leave the country “until Wednesday at the earliest. We had no idea this was going to happen".

A home is submerged in floodwaters caused by Hurricane Fiona. Picture: AP

“It’s really, really windy here at the moment and it's really strong. We are in and out of power and the hotel room is flooding. It’s all going downhill."

She added: “Everyone we asked here kept telling us it was going to be fine and it (hurricane) never hits here and that it will be off out into the ocean. But by Sunday the winds were already too high to get a plane out of here.” 

She said that their bedroom was on the fourth floor of the hotel but the wind was blowing so hard that the balcony doors were shaking and the foyer was flooded.

“The air con (system) is after falling down out of the roof and there are leaks everywhere. The hurricane sirens are going off every few minutes.” 

A Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said they are aware of the case of Zara and Joanne Doyle and are providing consular assistance.