With Hurricane Irma pounding its way across St. Martin on Wednesday morning, a vacationer named Alex Woolfall kept a steady stream of harrowing tweets coming. Within hours, people describing themselves as atheists were offering prayers.
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"Hope it passes quickly," he posted as the rain and wind picked up very early on Wednesday.
"Still feels relatively subdued," he posted at 2:30 a.m.
By 4:30 a.m. the building was shaking.
"Scary stuff but still have power," he posted.
Shortly thereafter he reported that guests at the Westin where he's staying were huddled in a stairwell.
"Noise of wind insane," he posted. "Pray this will end soon!"
By 6 a.m. the stairwell was crowded and sweltering but holding up.
"My God this noise!" Woolfall posted. "It's like standing behind a jet engine!! Constant booms & bangs. At least concrete stairwell not moving."
Woolfall is a public relations consultant who specializes in crisis communications, according to his web site. His Twitter bio suggests he's a frequent traveler ("Always chasing the sunshine.")
"May be my last tweet as power out and noise now apocalyptic," he posted. "This is like a movie I never want to see."
Several times he asked for prayers, including those from those outside the faith community. Responses from people identifying themselves as atheists have been swiftly forthcoming.
Here's an idea of what it's like there:
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