Newton man was in Cuba when Hurricane Sandy hit

SANTIAGO, Cuba (WHDH) -- While New England waits for Hurricane Sandy’s next move, Cuba already had a direct hit. The storm made landfall as a category two storm and a man from Newton was right in the middle of it all.

The storm hit at 1 a.m. and Dick Simon was asleep at his hotel in Santiago. He said the sites outside his window were post apocalyptic.

“Right now throughout the city there are trees and power lines and building rubble all over the place,” said Simon. “What’s so amazing is the people, they all come together.”

Simon, 60, was on a religious trip to Santiago with his wife. Hurricane Sandy knocked out power and tore through massive buildings. The seas had 30-foot waves.

“You’re hearing metal reverberating everywhere and crashing glass and wind whipping through trees,” said Simon. “Trees down everywhere here.”

The sites were surreal and for Simon, the timing couldn’t have been worse -- he had gotten there two days earlier.

The winds reached 110 miles per hour. Locals said the storm was unlike any other.

“I met somebody here…who said, ‘I’ve been through earthquakes, I’ve been through hurricanes here and I have never experienced anything like this,’” said Simon.

Simon and his wife have no plans to leave Cuba early. They’ll be there for another two weeks.