Edmonton man's wife, daughter found safe after Irma devastation

An Edmonton man went more than 24 hours without knowing whether his wife and daughter were safein the wake of Hurricane Irma.

Normand Boudreau's wife Angela and daughter Karlene are inTortola, one of theBritish Virgin Islands devastated by the Category 5 hurricane.

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Boudreau saw videos of flattened buildings and endless piles of debris on social media and immediately started combing through Facebook to find any sign of his wife and daughter.

"I got a text from my daughter yesterday [Wednesday morning] she said the winds were starting to get really strong and there was torrential rain," he said Thursday.

On Thursday evening, Boudreaufinally heard from his wife Angela's brother living in Trinidad.

"I don't know how and when we reached them but looks like they are safe,"Boudreauwrote in a Facebook post. "Thank God, and I can't wait to talk to them."

'We weren't expecting it'

When meteorologists reported that the British Virgin Islands would be in the path of Hurricane Irma, Angela and Karlenestarted preparing.

They collected food and waterand fortified their home with sandbags to ward off possible flooding.

Boudreausaid he wasn't too concerned about them at first.

"[My wife is] from Trinidad and Tobago so she's used to this kind of weather," he said. "The British Virgin Islands isn't known for hurricanes though ... so we weren't expecting it."

The United Nations estimates that up to 37 million people will be affected by Hurricane Irma as it continues its path through the Caribbean. The storm is expected to pass through Florida, Georgia and South Carolina early Friday.

anna.desmarais@cbc.ca

@anna_desmarais