Woman feared she would die as freak cyclone battered hotel during holiday
A TUI tourist feared she was going to die when a freak cyclone battered her hotel during her holiday in Greece.
Lizzie Spencer and her mother were among hundreds of Brits scrambling for shelter on the island of Skiathos after the weather phenomenon struck. It happened five days into the pair's break at Princess Resort Hotel, where they were celebrating Lizzie's 31st birthday.
Severe rainstorms and widespread flooding sparked by Storm Daniel earlier this month saw cars washed down the streets across Europe and parts of Africa.
Lizzie, a nail technician from Barnsley, South Yorkshire, said: "I only thought it was a thunderstorm - at first it's a bit exciting, a tropical storm but it was relentless for 36 hours... Constant thunder, rain and lightning which was lighting up the sky...You didn't want to go to sleep because you didn't know what you were waking up to and if you were going to wake up."
The beach bar area of the Princess Resort Hotel is left in tatters after Storm Daniel (Kennedy News and Media)"Nobody knew what was going on. We were so scared of there being a complete flooding of the hotel, or a landslide and being so close to the sea."
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The torrential downpours drenched the five-star resort, which led to its popular beach bar being "cut in half" last week. Footage taken in Skiathos has been compared online to scenes of a "warzone".
"We were out of food and power for 24 hours at the height of the storm, it was horrendous. I thought it was going to pass but it just didn't, it was constant. It was so intense, I've never experienced thunder like that in my life," Lizzie, who flew from Manchester Airport on August 30, added.
"The beach bar was a complete write off, it was in half. It took the biggest hit. The outdoor breakfast area was flooded. The beach was split in half in two places - the current was that strong. The height and strength of that current coming was crazy. It knocked walls down, there were cars moving and everything."
A freak cyclone battered the hotel and its sandy beach (Kennedy News and Media)Authorities sent mobile phone alerts warning tourists and residents to take shelter as the island saw record rainfall, forcing the cancellation of a number of flights.
The pair, who've stayed in the Princess Resort three times, feared the whole island "could've gone under" if the tumultuous weather persisted.
"The scariest bit was when it started flooding properly, when that was coming up to my hotel and the speed of the current, it was scary. The locals said they've never seen anything like this. The locals looked scared, which scared me," Lizzie, who is self-employed, added.
The nail technician took pictures of the devastating impact of Storm Daniel in Greece (Kennedy News and Media)
Water was gushing into the restaurant area of the accommodation (Kennedy News and Media)"They were doing their best to get the flooding out and preserve the hotel. We barricaded our window, we didn't know if the lightning would hit our electrics and set the hotel on fire.
"It was the unknown of what could happen, I've never experienced anything like that. The island could've gone under. We didn't really sleep because the cracks of thunder were unbelievable, they shook the windows.
"There were 7,000 lightning strikes in 24 hours and there was a grumble of thunder constantly. The lights would flash like off a film. I think the cyclone got stuck in our bay which is why the ordeal lasted for 36 hours. We were right by the sea which is why we were so scared.
"I just thought, 'when are we going to get off this island?' If you Google cyclones, they can last weeks or months, I was scared we'd be stuck there. When we lost power that was scary because none of us could charge our phones and keep in contact with home.'
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Lizzie said airlines sent out 13 empty planes to rescue the stranded tourists - and the pair were relieved to return to the UK a day later than planned on Thursday [September 7th]. Lizzie hopes TUI will provide some compensation for the two days of holiday they lost.
Lizzie said: "They got us on and off the plane as quickly as we could. Quite a few times they did apologise for the weather phenomena that happened. I'm hoping for some compensation from TUI but they could say it was an act of God. I lost quite a bit of money as well because I'm self-employed, I lost two days of work." Mirror has approached TUI for a comment.
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