Relief as hurricane-hit parents make contact

Robyn Laverick said she felt helpless once contact was lost

The daughter of a couple stranded in Jamaica has spoken of her relief at hearing they are safe and well.

Ian and Trudi Ferguson, from Witton Gilbert, County Durham, were forced to take refuge in the bathroom of their seafront hotel when Hurricane Melissa hit.

Robyn Laverick said she lost contact with her parents at about 15:00 GMT on Tuesday and it was nerve-wracking and horrible not knowing what was happening.

It was "wonderful" when a message came through from them about 20 hours later, she said, but she is now concerned about their circumstances in a hotel that looks "completely wiped out".

Once there was news of the impending hurricane, Ms Laverick, who lives in Esh, said she felt her parents were "trying to play it cool" so as not to worry the rest of the family, and she was trying to do the same with them.

"I think I knew deep down that they would be OK, in a luxury, high quality hotel, so I did feel safe about that, but there's always that fear if things go wrong and if the hotel does collapse, flood, anything...what can you do? It's over 10 hours away."

Trudi and Ian Ferguson had been enjoying a romantic break on the island

At first she was reassured by communication via WhatsApp, but then the messages stopped delivering.

"You're thinking, how long are you going to be waiting for, is it going to be hours, is it going to be days?" she said.

"You've only got that little window of communication, so when it's all cut off and gone, you just feel stuck.

"It was horrible, really stressful, really nerve-wracking, so out of your hands...you want to do so much to help but there's nothing you can do."

It was not until late the next morning that she heard from them.

She said: "When I got a message saying 'hi, Robyn, we're alive' I instantly felt the most positive I have in days because I knew they were good and well."

The hotel suffered significant damage and was "like a ghost town", according to Trudi Ferguson

But the worry about her parents is not yet over for Ms Laverick.

"Circumstances are not very nice because the photo they sent me showed the hotel looks completely wiped out", she said.

"There are tables, chairs, chandeliers everywhere.

"My mum sent me a video of her walking through deep water and that's inside the hotel, not even seeing outside.

"They were in paradise, in luxury and this amazing holiday, and they've woken up and it looks like a nightmare, my mum she said it felt eerie, like a ghost town.

"Everything looks like it's destroyed and you think how can it come back from that."