By Joel Reese

Inverness residents Joe and Maidee Moore closely followed Hurricane Marilyn's path of destruction through the Caribbean last week. Their daughter Judith has lived on the island of St. Thomas for 20 years.

Joe Moore told The Light this week that when he and his wife finally heard from Judith on Monday, she did not have good news: "She lost everything," he said. "Her house, all her clothes, furniture, books -- it's all gone."

Hurricane Marilyn followed closely on the heels of Hurricane Luis, which hit just the week before.

Moore said Judith told him Hurricane Luis only knocked down some wires on St. Thomas, but "this one was really bad."

Three people were killed and a quarter of St. Thomas' housing was destroyed in the storm, which produced wind gusts of 115 miles per hour.

Judith made it through the storm by staying in a friend's hurricane-proof house, Moore said, and discovered the next day that her own house had been obliterated.

Moore said Judith was thankful to have survived and is now considering moving back to the States.

He noted that 1989's Hurricane Hugo ripped the roof off Judith's home; she survived that storm by staying under a mattress in the house for 24 hours.