We saw pictures of the city and that's when we started shaking and crying and wondering how we made it out of there, ... We only saw what was around us.

So someone came on the floor and said if you can walk you should leave, ... We thought we were in serious trouble. None of us wanted to walk in the water. It looked like a toxic soup. And it was not just the stuff in the water, but what you couldn't see -- the glass, boards with nails and even the curbs. We decided if that's the way out, we'll have to walk through the water.

Many people there had lost everything, their house, loved ones and all they had left, all they had left was their best friend, ... The idea that people had to leave them behind was unthinkable and inhumane.

We all had this panicked look, ... That was the place of last refuge and where the majority of people would be. And along with that, we had a lot more water to walk through.

We were fortunate, ... We had money and credit cards. (At a hotel) we called our families. We took showers. We let our cat out of the cage. An hour later, we realized we could turn on the TV, that we had electricity.

It was a living hell, a nightmarish scene, ... There were like 20,000 who were at the end of their rope, and without food and water and protection for too long.

Heading back to the hotel, this was the lowest point.

But the food was great, ... Our chef was doing a fantastic job.