As The X Factor aired this weekend, Deanna Mussington faced the fury of Hurricane Irma.
22-year-old musician Deanna flew 4,000 miles to sing from the judges, originally coming from the island of Anguilla, a British overseas territory in the Caribbean.
“It was long but I made it and I’m grateful for being here,” said Deanna at her audition, which aired on Sunday night.
She told cameras: “When I decided to do X Factor, my whole family has been supportive but my mum and step dad and dad couldn’t make it. It was a bit too much to come back up here.”
Deanna revealed that fellow islanders helped fund her trip to the UK to pursue her dreams.
“Today is a very big deal not just for me but also the 14,000 people back home who are watching, texting me, I do want to put Anguilla on the map,” she said.
Deanna went on to wow the judges with Whitney Houston’s I Have Nothing, making it through to bootcamp.
But while the latest episodes of the ITV series aired, Deanna, her family and other islanders coped with the aftermath of Hurriane Irma.
“I stayed in with my family and prayed and hoped for the best for 10 hours, we came out of this alive, God Bless,” she told the Daily Mirror. “Our property stood up strong however we got water damage and other damage from neighbouring debris.”
Deanna went to reveal the trail of destruction left behind by the storm: “Roofs from various homes are off. Our hospital is damaged as well and the roof has blown off. Our high school and primary schools are ruined, most light-post are down and blocking the roads. There’s no electricity or running water, island wide, and we are in desperate need of financial aid.
“My friends and family are safe, but we all are distraught and displaced by the disaster. But as Anguillians we are strong people and we are coming together as one to get through this.”
However the singer went on to say nothing would stop her from continuing in the competition.
“I’ve been through too much in my life to get to where I am now and I will swim to London if need be,” she said.
The X Factor 2017 airs Saturday and Sunday nights on ITV.