A Shorewood man who grew up in Puerto Rico hopes Hurricane Irma weakens soon. His family lives on the island and they are braced for the worst.
"A part of me is very happy I'm not there. The other part is of course keeping tabs with them to make sure that everything is ok," said Victor Miranda.
As Irma made its way around Puerto Rico, Miranda stayed in constant contact with his family.
"My mom, my dad, my sister, my entire family. Aunts, cousins, everybody," said Miranda.
He saw the destruction some parts of Puerto Rico endured.
"Roof taken out, plants flattened, surge of 7 to 12 feet."
Miranda said evacuating an island is different than being on the mainland.
"So if there is any surge you will go up and then if you go up then you're higher up and the wind is going to get you even faster so it's kind of like a catch-22," said Miranda.
He said most homes have concrete roofs in Puerto Rico.
"What people do is they actually hunker in the center of the house."
His mom and sister are in San Juan, where they heard the wind howling and felt the vibration, but made it safely through the storm.
