SE: Caribbean-Born Wildcats Recall 'Heartbreaking' Experience of Watching Hurricanes from K-State

Ifeanyi Otuonye vividly remembers bailing water out of his house for hours in the middle of the night; high-force winds raising his ceiling up and hearing it slam back down; and the devastation becoming visible when the sun rose in the morning.

This night in 2008, when Hurricane Ike hit his home country of Turks and Caicos, sticks with Otuonye, who competed for K-State track and field from 2012-16. As he watched the devastation Hurricane Irma, followed by Hurricane Maria, laid on the Caribbean in September, he was taken back to his experience nine years ago.

"It's so crazy because I wasn't there to experience it this time," said Otuonye, now a graduate assistant for K-State Athletics. "I can still relate to them, how they went through it and what they're going through."

Akia Guerrier (Turks and Caicos) and Jess St. John (Antigua and Barbuda), two current members of the K-State track and field team, can also relate to Otuonye's pain of watching their countries suffer from afar.

"It was devastating, heartbreaking to see how much families had lost back home," said St. John, a senior for the Wildcats. "It was terrifying."

Seeing Hurricane Irma approach their country was stressful, but the wait to hear from family members and friends brought even more anxiety.

It took St. John and Guerrier about two to three days to connect with their families. Each said the stress of not knowing the state of their family and friends back home took a toll on them.

"It was extremely difficult for me because I couldn't focus in training, in school," St. John said. "I was just worried about my family and friends back home."

"It was hard because I still had to come to the student-athlete center. I still had lifting. I still had training," added Guerrier. "I wasn't really the eccentric person I normally am at training."

Otuonye's home island of Grand Turk had its power knocked out completely by Irma, so he first heard his family was safe by someone from a neighboring island. Eventually, about a week after Irma, he was able to speak with his parents.

"It was a big relief," he said.

Irma, one of the most powerful hurricanes ever recorded, made its way through 10 countries in the Caribbean before wreaking havoc on Florida. It claimed the lives of at least 28 people and left many islands, like Barbuda, barely habitable. The damage of the hurricane is estimated to be at least $100 billion.

Maria followed about two weeks later, battering Turks and Caicos with 125 MPH winds and an abundance of rain to pause much of the recovery effort.

Witnessing the destruction, even from almost 2,000 miles away, Otuonye, Guerrier and St. John agreed, changed their perspective and appreciation for life.

"I know my family was OK, so I was relieved, but other people still had to suffer from getting flooded in their own houses, being locked up in the closet trying to not get caught up in the debris flying through the house because the roof had gone off. That's a scary vision to imagine," Guerrier said. "I'm grateful to know that my family didn't have to go through that. It made me really appreciative of everything I have and the fact that my family was safe and not going through that."

"I couldn't be more grateful for life and family members," St. John added. "It shows that one day, everything can be spick and spam, everything was good, and then another day you could lose everything, including your life. So you just have to be grateful for each and every day."

Relief efforts are ongoing in all of the Caribbean countries affected by Hurricane Irma. Donations can be made directly to the American Red Cross by clicking here.

"I believe that they're going to bounce back," Otuonye said. "They did it before. They're definitely going to do it again."

Kansas State University Athletics

SE: Caribbean-Born Wildcats Recall 'Heartbreaking' Experience of Watching Hurricanes from K-State

Players Mentioned

Akia Guerrier

Jess St. John

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