A New Haven mom is praying for the safe return of her daughter and friends stranded on St. Maarten.
They went from celebrating a birthday on the idyllic island to sheltering in a closet for survival while Hurricane Irma devasted the Caribbean island.
Sandra Pittman and her family told NBC Connecticut that it has been a tense and worrisome three days for them.
Since Shandrea Pittman, Sandra's daughter, and her friends survived the hurricane barrelling over St. Marteen, the situation there has only become more dire.
On Facebook, Pittman's daughter Shandrea, of New Haven, shared the calm before the storm.
"Look at these cars turned over," she wrote.
She noted the destruction after Hurricane Irma devastated St. Maarten.
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"It's terrible. It's the worst feeling that any mom could feel," she wrote.
When the hurricane hit the Leeward Island on Wednesday, she wrote, "The power went down at 5 and then the towers went down at 7."
Pittman went more than 18 hours without hearing from her daughter. Eventually, one of her friends called her.
“The third time she called, that’s when she said, 'Sandra, Sandra, can you hear me? Sandra, can you hear me? and I was like, 'Yes, can you hear?' she said, 'We are stuck in a closet for 18 hours'," Pittman told NBC Connecticut.
With their vacation villa destroyed, the fire department rescued Shandrea and her friends and brought them to a hotel lobby that's become a shelter.
"Over 300 people using the same bathroom, no running water," Pittman said. "Today (my daughter) called and said, 'Ma, now it starting to get violent.'"
During the interview with NBC Connecticut, Pittman got a message from her daughter that said officials were trying to get people out before Hurricane Jose, a Category 4 storm, hits the islands.
However, NBC Connecticut was later updated that Shandrea and her friends won't be able to make it out before Hurricane Jose.
NBC Connecticut was told the first plane with children and the elderly on board had to turn around, according to the Pittman family.
St. Maarten isn't expecting a direct hit from Jose, but Shandrea's message said they're preparing for the worst.
