WI native sits in direct path of Hurricane Irma: "You can never really prepare for the storm of the century"

ST. THOMAS -- A Wisconsin man is in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where Hurricane Irma is expected to hit early Wednesday, September 6th. Joey DuBois has lived on the island of St. Thomas for the past decade, and he's never been through a hurricane of this magnitude before. He said Tuesday he'd been preparing for days, not sure what to expect.

"I can't eat. I can't drink. I've had a pit in my stomach all day. Extremely scared," DuBois said.

There isn't much one can do hours before a Category 5 hurricane hits, other than wait.

Joey DuBois

"Being stuck in a catastrophe is not fun. It's very, very scary," DuBois said.

DuBois, a Mishicot native, has lived on the island of St. Thomas for the past decade. He's usually enjoying paradise, but on Tuesday night, he sat in the direct path of Hurricane Irma.

"I turned the hurricane shutters on and also put the 2x4s on every window on the house," DuBois said.

The 31-year-old is the brother of FOX6 Photojournalist Justin DuBois.

Hurricane Irma

St. Thomas

Joey DuBois

"I've got tons of canned goods, sardines, crackers, tuna," Joey DuBois said. "You can never really prepare for the storm of the century, the perfect storm."

The Category 5 storm is expected to hit the Caribbean early Wednesday, and could hit parts of Florida in the following days.

 

"It's been very busy here at the office," Nicole Gulatz with the American Red Cross said Tuesday.

As of Tuesday, about a dozen volunteers from Wisconsin were set to head to Orlando.

"We're definitely gearing up. We're ready. We've got shelter agreements in place and just kind of waiting to see what's going to happen with the storm's path," Gulatz said.

"Send your positive thoughts, your prayers. Anything you can do," Joey DuBois said.

DuBois said it has been nearly impossible to evacuate, as many flights have been sold out since Saturday. He said he's staying hopeful that the island he loves will be OK.