Ottawan worries for family stranded after Irma damage

Mouzaya Dabboussy, her husband and their two young children heard the warnings about Hurricane Irma and got ready to hunker down.

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They got food and water, thenmoved into thehome of a friend next door on the island of Tortola in the British Virgin Islands, which hasa room made out of concrete.

"They hoped for the best, did all the preparations that they needed to," said Rouba Dabboussy, Mouzaya's mother, in an interview with CBC Radio's All in a Day Friday.

On Wednesday, as Irma's eye was passing Tortola, Roubagot an email from her daughter saying people were starting to lose internet access, and that she likely would lose it soon.

"We're hunkered down, we love you all," the emailread.

'We need to get out ASAP'

Rouba didn't hear from heragain until about 5 p.m. ET Thursday, when she got a textfrom someone relaying a message fromMouzaya.

"We're all alive. We need to get out ASAP. Please let Nathan's mom know we're OK. We'll call you as soon we have connection," the message read.

Then, about two hours later, Roubagot a phone call from Mouzayathat lasted about a minute.

"And she was very distressed, saying that the two floors of the villa ...were destroyed, flew off. They were only protected by a mattress in the bathroom and that concrete space," Roubarecalled.

'No evacuation plan'

The roads on the hill they lived on were washed away andthe vehicles were gone presumably blown off the hill so they started walking toward Road Town, the capital of the British Virgin Islands, below.

"And [Mouzayasaid] that they walked through the debris and the rubble and the muddown the mountain on foot with the babies ... and that there's starting to be some violence and break-ins, and people seem to be in desperation, there's looting and that kind of stuff. So they're pretty scared," Roubasaid.

Mouzayaasked her mother to start calling Global Affairs and embassies for help, but Roubasaid her effortshaven't been successful.

"What I've been told so far is that there is no evacuation plan as of yet, that we or they [Mouzaya and her family] should monitor social media.Obviously they can't monitor social media because they have no power, no connections, no internet," Rouba said.

'Hard not to think about the worst'

She booked flights for the whole family on this coming Monday and Tuesday, just in case, but the airport in Tortolais currently closed.

"So getting them out of the island seems to be not feasible before Hurricane Jose, which apparently is heading down possiblythe same path as Irma. That's tomorrow [Saturday]," Rouba said.

"You hope for the best but it's hard not to think about the worst."