Irish family's 'absolutely terrifying' ordeal stranded…

Irish family's 'absolutely terrifying' ordeal stranded in the Caribbean as Hurricane Fiona hits region

A family from Carlow have spoken about their "absolutely terrifying" ordeal stranded in the Caribbean, as the region was hit by a hurricane.

Debris flew by their hotel room on the fourth floor and staff fought to prevent buildings from flooding as Storm Fiona lashed the coast of the Dominican Republic.

The eye of the hurricane made landfall on Sunday along with sustained winds of 150km/h according to the US National Hurricane Center. It also struck nearby Puerto Rico, knocking out the island's power.

Mother and daughter Joanne and Zara Doyle are on holiday in the Dominican Republic but have been forced into staying in their fourth floor hotel room in the resort town of Punta Cana on the country's east coast.

They said that the area has been struck by flash floods and high winds since yesterday.

Despite the heights of their hotel room, it began to flood as conditions worsened.

Zara, 23, told the Irish Mirror: "It’s absolutely terrifying, our balcony doors feel like they're about to blow in. Our room is flooding from the front door and the air con fell out of the ceiling. (There's) wooden debris flying by our balcony on the 4th floor and sirens going off every few minutes.

"Our room started flooding last night. The water outside just wasn’t clearing away and starting pouring in through our room and balcony doors. The staff are working so hard to clean it."

Their hotel had warned all holidaymakers to stay in their hotel rooms, with the storm expected to pass today. But conditions have caused the ground to be flooded while air-conditioning appliances have fallen from the ceilings higher up.

"We're still here in the hotel and the only guidance is to return straight back to our flooded room after we have eaten. There is nowhere to go outside the hotel that would be in better condition," the third year veterinary student said.

The family, from Graiguecullen, have appealed for help from the Department of Foreign Affairs to assist them to get out of the country, but it may be until Wednesday at the earliest that they can leave due to the hurricane.

"We can't even open our front door to get out," Zara said, "Our balcony door is shaking [and] our front door, we can't even open - the wind is so strong."

She added that there are "hurricane sirens going off every few minutes", with the power being lost at a building across the road, while the "lights are flickering" in her hotel.

But efforts to contact the department failed as the hurricane has damaged connectivity in the country.

She said that residents at the hotel were informed earlier that it would close and that all staying were to return to their rooms until further notice.

They have been trying to keep in touch with her grandparents in Carlow but have been faced with fading WiFi.

Zara added that she was unaware of any other Irish residents at the hotel, saying many of the other tourists were American.