WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — What was supposed to be a birthday getaway for Tanya Mathis quickly turned into a weeklong nightmare.

Jimetra Alexander, along with her cousins Lena Baker and LaTanya “Tanya” Mathis, have been stranded in Jamaica since Wednesday, Oct. 22, after Hurricane Melissa slammed into the island .

“It was horrific to see how the roads were just washed out, the mud everywhere,” Alexander said.

The family was staying at the Riu Montego Bay resort when the hurricane hit.

“The mud was everywhere, the beach was unrecognizable, the tops off of the trees, the pieces that were blown out,” Alexander said.

Their trip, which began as a celebration for Tanya’s birthday, quickly turned into a fight to stay safe. Flights were canceled, hotel rooms flooded, and power went out for days,

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