As Hurricane Irma moves closer to the Caribbean, a metro Detroit couple is stranded right in the storm’s path.
Irma is a category 5 storm - meaning a local couple is facing real danger. They're staying in a shelter on St. Thomas.
As Irma moves closer, Alicia Ping and her husband Dave are preparing for anything but a relaxing vacation.
They arrived this week and planned to spend time on nearby St. John. Instead they've stocked up on food and water and will be sleeping at a local shelter.
Otherwise, they'd risk being trapped inside a condo building several stories tall.
"It's pretty emotional. We're on the 3rd floor of this condo, but the way the water is supposed to come up, it could get close to the bottom of the third level," Alicia says.
With conditions expected to deteriorate quickly, the couple knows they can't afford to take any chances.
Fierce winds and torrential downpours threaten to make roads too dangerous to travel.
"We'll probably have to go tonight,” Alicia says. “Can't imagine anybody would want to be out driving in this. We went to the grocery store earlier and we have a lot of food we're going to take with us."
Alicia says with flights canceled it could be days before she's able to fly out with her husband.
Floridian Hannah Lazarus is visiting metro Detroit with her husband and kids. She says she's holding off on a drive back until she knows its safe.
Alicia says those shelters could be packed with more people who planned to vacation there. Now, most are just hoping to make it back safe.
