CABIN ATTENDANT RPT; A300; SJU-JFK. HYD PROB. DIVERT TO CHARLESTON. PREPARED EMER LNDG. PAX PANICKED. PAX HEART PROB. PARAMEDICS MET FLT. FLT CANCELED.

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APPROX AT XA00; THE CAPT NOTIFIED THE PURSER; WHO CALLED TO THE AFT GALLEY TO TELL US TO GET OUR MANUALS; AS WE HAD A HYDS PROB AND WOULD NEED TO PREPARE OUR PAX FOR A PLANNED EMER EVAC. WE WOULD BE LNDG AT THE CLOSEST ARPT IN APPROX 40 MINS. I GOT MY MANUAL FROM BEHIND MY JUMP SEAT AT ROW 3R; AND TOOK MY PLANNED EMER EVAC CHKLIST OUT. I LOOKED OVER THE CHKLIST; AS THE CAPT MADE A PA; NOTIFYING PAX OF THE SIT. I TRIED TO CALM DOWN PAX WHO WERE SCARED; CONFUSED AND FULL OF QUESTIONS. THE PURSER BEGAN A PA INSTRUCTING PAX ON WHAT TO DO; AS FLT ATTENDANTS WERE IN AISLE DEMONSTRATING THE BRACE POS/POINTING OUT EXITS; ETC. IT WAS DIFFICULT TO HEAR THE PURSER OVER THE PA; AS PAX KEPT TRYING TO GET MY ATTN FOR ASSURANCE AND INFO. MANY ELDERLY PAX ONBOARD -- SOME OF WHOM WERE WAILING; ALSO MAKING IT DIFFICULT TO HEAR THE PURSER'S PA; AND COMPLETE THE DEMONSTRATION. BABIES' ANXIOUS CRIES MUFFLED THE PA AS WELL. ONCE THE DEMONSTRATION WAS COMPLETED AND PAX WERE RESEATED; ITEMS STOWED AND ASSISTANTS CHOSEN; RESEATED AND BRIEFED; ALL WAS RELATIVELY CALM; SAVE FOR CRYING BABIES (DUE TO EXCITEMENT) AND SOME CRYING ELDERLY PAX NEAR MY JUMP SEAT. I TRIED TO CALM THEM WITH SMILES AND SOFT VOICE; SINCE I'M NOT A FOREIGN LANGUAGE SPEAKER. BOTH FOREIGN LANGUAGE SPEAKERS DID THEIR BEST BRIEFING PAX PERSONALLY IN ADDITION TO WELL-SPOKEN PA TRANSLATIONS. I FACED PAX AT MY 3L JUMP SEAT AND CONTINUOUSLY REMINDED THEM THAT THIS WAS A PRECAUTIONARY MEASURE WE HAD TO TAKE. I TRIED TO JOKE WITH MY ASSISTANTS SEATED DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF ME; AS I SENSED THEY WERE VERY APPREHENSIVE. SHORTLY BEFORE TOUCHDOWN I HEARD THE 'BRACE' COMMAND AND REPEATED IT WITH OTHER FLT ATTENDANTS. WE REMINDED A FEW PAX TO KEEP THEIR HEADS DOWN. ROUGH LNDG; BUT NO EVAC NECESSARY. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: THE RPTR STATED THAT THEY DIVERTED TO CHARLESTON; WHERE THE ARPT DIDN'T HAVE THE FACILITIES TO HANDLE SUCH A BIG JET; SO THEY HAD TO SIT ON THE TXWY FOR 40 MINS. A PAX STARTED TO HAVE HEART PROBS; SO THEY HAD TO WAIT FOR PARAMEDICS TO COME TAKE HIM OFF BEFORE THEY WERE TOWED TO THE GATE. THE PLANE WAS TAKEN OTS AND THE FLT CANCELED. EVENTUALLY; ANOTHER PLANE WAS FERRIED IN FROM NEW YORK TO TAKE THE PAX HOME. THERE WAS A LOT OF VERY FRIGHTENED PAX; SOME WERE HYSTERICAL. THE RPTR ATTRIBUTES SOME OF THE PANIC TO THE LANGUAGE DIFFICULTIES. SHE; HERSELF; WAS SCARED. HER DESIGNATED HELPERS WERE EXCELLENT IN HELPING CALM THE PEOPLE.