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Journalist faces being stranded as holiday hurricane approaches

A regional daily journalist fears she will be stuck in a hurricane as she prepares to return hope from a family holiday.

Melissa Major, a trainee reporter at Barrow-based daily The Mail, is currently with her mother and sister in Florida, which could be hit by Hurricane Irma over the weekend.

Irma is the most powerful Atlantic Ocean hurricane on record and has already caused flooding and blackouts in the Caribbean.

Melissa, who is not due to fly home until the weekend, told the Mail she had already seen scores of people leaving the area.

Journalist Melisssa Major, right, with her family in Florida

Journalist Melisssa Major, right, with her family in Florida

She said: “When we filled up with petrol yesterday, on Tuesday, people were buying trolley-loads of bottled water and the woman at the till said ‘stay safe, it’s coming.’

“My mum is starting to panic we are going to get stuck here. All the hotels are on standby and monitoring the situation very closely for us and giving us updates. You can see people are scared.”

The US’s National Hurricane Centre described Irma as “potentially catastrophic”.

The UK Foreign Office has advised Britons in the hurricane’s path to monitor its website and follow any advice issued by local officials.

In a statement, the department said: “The authorities in Puerto Rico and Florida have declared a state of emergency. You should follow the advice of the local authorities and any evacuation orders.”