Local woman vacationing in St. Thomas describes Irma's approach

As Hurricane Irma gets closer, a local woman vacationing on the island of St. Thomas says she’s never seen anything like it.

Carole Norrell of Walpole owns a home on the US Virgin Island of St. Thomas and has vacationed there for years. She has a front-row seat for Hurricane Irma and is already seeing conditions intensify.

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“The worst of it hasn’t hit yet and it’s pretty bad now,” Norrell told Boston 25 News Anchor Elizabeth Hopkins over the phone.

Norrell says she will stay through the storm.

“We’re in the condo, but we’ve got storm shutters on. Really windy here and water surge is starting to come up high,” said Norrell.

People on the island are also bracing for impact.

“The lines at Home Depot and the grocery store were two, three hours long,” said Norrell.

She says power and internet has flickered on and off, and from her window she can see why.

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“It's pretty bad out there now, the winds are really whipping and the trees are losing their limbs. And there's one boat out here in the docks and its already ripped the mast off,” said Norrell.

Carole believes she will be safe and is heeding local advice to stay inside.

Cox Media Group