Those were the feelings going through the minds of those who hunkered down during Hurricane Irma over the past weekend.

For Jennifer Cooper, that fear came into focus when she watched the storm rip the roof off her home in St. Thomas , and as water flooded into the apartment where she was sheltering.

"When I saw the roof fly off and then the water started pouring down, that's the first time I started to really think that we weren't going to make it," Cooper said. "That's when I almost started to panic. It was the scariest thing."

Hurricane Irma rampaged through the Caribbean and parts of Florida, leaving a trail of destruction and a years-long recovery in its wake.

But even with Harvey and Irma in the rear-view mirror, the hurricane season remains in full swing. For those considering staying at home through a future hurricane, here's a sense of what that's like in a intense hurricane -- according to those who made it out alive.

'We could feel the wind'

Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean Carmelo Mota, a builder, searches for tools in his destroyed home in Charlotte Amalie, US Virgin Islands, on Monday, September 18. Hurricane Irma devastated the US territory and other Caribbean islands in the region, leaving them exposed to new storms brewing in the Atlantic. Hide Caption 1 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean An aerial photo shows the devastation in Road Town, the capital of Tortola, the largest and most populated of the British Virgin Islands, on Wednesday, September 13. Hide Caption 2 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson talks to a resident of Anguilla during a visit on September 13. Hide Caption 3 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean People collect food that was delivered by emergency workers in the Sandy Ground area of Marigot, St. Martin, on Tuesday, September 12. Hide Caption 4 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean Buildings are destroyed in St. Martin on September 12. Hide Caption 5 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean French President Emmanuel Macron shakes hands with St. Martin residents during a visit to the island on September 12. Hide Caption 6 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean French soldiers patrol St. Martin on September 12. Hide Caption 7 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean A person works to clean up a street September 12 after Hurricane Irma flooded parts of Havana, Cuba. Hide Caption 8 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean A man makes repairs in Havana on September 12. Hide Caption 9 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean This Marigot church was among the buildings destroyed in the storm. Hide Caption 10 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean Cubans affected by Hurricane Irma line up to collect drinking water in Isabela de Sagua, Cuba, on Monday, September 11. Hide Caption 11 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean Dutch King Willem-Alexander, front right, tours damage in St. Maarten on September 11. Hide Caption 12 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean A palm tree sticks out of a pool on the French side of St. Martin on September 11. Hide Caption 13 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean A woman stands next to her water-logged belongings that had been laid out to dry in front of her home in Isabela de Sagua on September 11. Hide Caption 14 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean People line up for supplies in St. Martin on September 11. Hide Caption 15 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean The skeleton of a boat drifts in St. Martin's Simpson Bay on September 11. Hide Caption 16 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean People salvage material from the remains of a house in Isabela de Sagua on September 11. Hide Caption 17 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean Members of the British Army provide support on Tortola, one of the British Virgin Islands. Hide Caption 18 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean A woman carries a dog at an airport checkpoint in St. Martin on September 11. Hide Caption 19 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean People wade through a flooded street as a wave crashes in Havana on Sunday, September 10. Hide Caption 20 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean Two men search through the rubble of their St. Martin restaurant on September 10. Hide Caption 21 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean People make their way through debris in the Cojimar neighborhood of Havana on September 10. Hide Caption 22 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean People board a plane leaving St. Martin on September 10. Hide Caption 23 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean A man wades through a flooded street in Havana on September 10. Hide Caption 24 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean An overview of Havana shows flooded streets on Saturday, September 9. Hide Caption 25 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean A woman surveys flooding in Havana on September 9. Hide Caption 26 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean A boat rests in a cemetery after Irma tore through Marigot, St. Martin. Hide Caption 27 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean Residents return home after Irma passed through Caibarien, Cuba, on September 9. Hide Caption 28 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean A man walks in Caibarien on September 9. Hide Caption 29 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean A man carries a child through a flooded street in Fort-Liberte, Haiti, on Friday, September 8. Hide Caption 30 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean A man walks on a St. Martin street covered in debris on September 8. Hide Caption 31 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean A damaged home is tilted onto its side on the Puerto Rican island of Culebra on Thursday, September 7. Hide Caption 32 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean A home is surrounded by debris in Nagua, Dominican Republic, on September 7. Hide Caption 33 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean Irma damage is seen in St. Martin's Orient Bay on September 7. Hide Caption 34 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean Employees from an electrical company work to clear a fallen tree in Sanchez, Dominican Republic. Hide Caption 35 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean A woman makes her way through debris in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, on September 7. Hide Caption 36 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean In this image made from video, damaged houses are seen in St. Thomas on September 7. Hide Caption 37 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean The storm left widespread destruction on the island of Barbuda on September 7. Hide Caption 38 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean A flattened home is seen in Nagua, Dominican Republic, on September 7. Hide Caption 39 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean Nagua residents ride through an area affected by the storm on September 7. Hide Caption 40 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean Trash and debris is washed ashore in Cap-Haitien, Haiti, on September 7. Hide Caption 41 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean People walk through damage in Marigot, St. Martin, on September 7. Hide Caption 42 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean People survey damage in Marigot on September 7. Hide Caption 43 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean Bluebeard's Castle, a resort in St. Thomas, was hit hard by Irma. St. Thomas resident David Velez sent this photo to CNN on September 7. Hide Caption 44 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean Irma ruined these vehicles in St. Thomas. Hide Caption 45 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean Waves smash into St. Martin on Wednesday, September 6. Hide Caption 46 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean A man looks at a vehicle turned upside down in the British territory of Anguilla. Hide Caption 47 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean An aerial view of St. Martin on September 6. Hide Caption 48 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean Damaged cars are seen on a St. Martin beach on September 6. Hide Caption 49 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean A boat is washed onto shore in St. Martin. Hide Caption 50 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean Cars are piled up in Marigot on September 6. Hide Caption 51 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean A man walks past damaged buildings in St. Martin on September 6. Hide Caption 52 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean A car is flipped onto its side in Marigot. Hide Caption 53 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean Broken palm trees are scattered on a Marigot beach on September 6. Hide Caption 54 of 55 Photos: Hurricane Irma tears through Caribbean Irma floods a beach in Marigot on September 6. Hide Caption 55 of 55

Dr. Lachlan Macleay and his wife Kaiann Macleay hunkered down in a St. Martin resort when Irma hit.

When they first felt the rising pressure in the room, they moved a mattress up against the large sliding glass windows and put a dresser behind that. They sheltered in the bathroom away from the gusting winds, a decision that quickly proved wise.

"We were in the bathroom for probably about 45 minutes, and the windows exploded in the bedroom," Lachlan Macleay told CNN's Erin Burnett. "We could feel the wind coming down the hallway through the kitchen."

But soon, the bathroom roof started to flex and water began coming through the cracks in the ceiling. So they moved between the refrigerator and the front door and stood in the door frame for the next three to four hours, even as water slowly flooded the room.

"At that point, there was about 5 inches of water on the floor where we were standing," Kaiann Macleay said. "The whole room was filled with water because the roof was leaking, and there was glass everywhere from the sliding glass doors. But the door frame against the metal door was really the safest spot."

The couple survived through the storm. In the immediate aftermath, Dr. Macleay helped those injured on the Caribbean island.

But the chaotic period after the storm, in which they watched people begin looting and stealing, was even more frightening. Wary of looters, Dr. Macleay and others at the resort decided to stay up through the night on patrol with a machete on hand, just in case.

"I was terrified. I was obviously totally relieved and grateful to be alive," Kaiann Macleay said. "But when I saw the devastation, then I was faced with the reality that we were in a really, really bad situation, and it was terrifying."

'The last tooth in the mouth of a bum'

Michael Benson, 65, had prepared for a hurricane like Irma years ago.

Benson, a resident of St. John in the US Virgin Islands, told Reuters that after Hurricane Marilyn hit the islands in 1995, he and his wife decided to reinforce their shower. The shower was not attached to the rest of the house, making it an ideal hurricane shelter in case another major storm tore into their home.

"I told (the man who installed the shower), 'If the hurricane takes the rest of my house, I want this shower sticking up out of that slab like the last tooth in the mouth of a bum,'" Benson said. "And sure enough, that's what's left. That one shower sticking up."

He told Reuters he felt like he's been "fired" by Hurricane Irma. His house, his business, and both his vehicles were destroyed, strewn up and down a nearby hill. But he was thankful that he was still alive.

"We listened to 200 mile an hour winds, with gusts to 225 mph," he said. "It's the most frightening thing I ever saw in my life, bar none."

'It was a badass hurricane'

Rick Freedman checks his neighbor's damage from Hurricane Irma on Marco Island, Florida.

Not everyone was quite as fearful, though.

Zack Forrest, 26, and his roommate Krock Indigo, 22, live on Marco Island, a barrier island off southwest Florida near Naples. They decided to ignore a mandatory evacuation order and stay in their apartment for Hurricane Irma, and afterward, Forrest said he expected more out of the storm.

"It was not a nuclear hurricane," Forrest told CNN. "But it was a badass hurricane."

Forrest came to Marco Island from Tulsa, Oklahoma, so he was familiar with tornadoes. The hurricane winds were similar, but lasted longer, he said.

"It was loud. It was scary," Forrest said. "The storm was really intense, it was like a tornado that lasted for an hour and a half."

'That's when fear set in'

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Jennifer Cooper had an up-close view of the destruction of her life in the Caribbean's St. Thomas.

She had sheltered in a bottom apartment for the storm, and when the eyewall hit, the roof of her home flew off and landed on her car. About 30 minutes later, the roof blew off of the car and went down the hill.

"That's when fear set in," she said. "That and when the roof blew off, that's when the bottom apartment started to flood, and we had water up to our ankles. And that's when I got really scared."

Cooper, a nurse working at a hospital in the US Virgin Islands, said she plans to move back to Washington, D.C. with her family now that the storm destroyed everything.

"There is nothing left of my home right now. We have one wall left. The roof is gone. All of the furniture is gone. The car is gone," she said. "So at this time, it's just the kids and the dogs and my husband."