A dramatic recording of the rescue operation in Tampa, Florida, which was underwater as a result of Hurricane Milton, has been released online. The local sheriff rescued a 14-year-old boy who was floating alone on a piece of fence. “It's literally like a scene from a survivor movie,” the sheriff said.
When Hurricane Milton tore through Florida, it spawned dozens of tornadoes, knocked out power to millions of people, damaged homes, flooded neighborhoods and forced hundreds of rescue operations.
On Thursday, a 14-year-old boy who was floating on a piece of fence was rescued in Tampa, Florida. Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister shared footage of the action on social media. It shows that the surrounding houses were submerged in water almost to their roofs.
– It was literally like a scene from a survivor movie. (The boy) was lying on the fence and waving at us, the sheriff said. – He was out of breath, gasping for air when we pulled him out – said Chronister.
In the shared recording, a sheriff riding in a motorboat can be heard shouting to the boy “let me turn around!” and adds “stay there!”.
When the sheriff and his deputy managed to swim to the piece of wood where the 14-year-old was drifting, they grabbed him and pulled him onto the boat.
The deadly toll of the “storm of the century”
Milton hit the west coast of Florida on Wednesday evening local time as a Category 3 hurricane on the five-point Saffir-Simpson scale. It carried winds of over 195 kilometers per hour. Later, as a category 1 hurricane, it moved eastward across the peninsula, destroying everything in its path.
At least 16 people died as a result of the hurricane's impact, CNN reported on Friday. Most victims were reported in St. County. Lucie.
Milton, FloridaPAP/EPA/CRISTOBAL HERRERA-ULASHKEVICH
The damage caused by the hurricane is still being assessed. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis admitted that although the hurricane – called a potential “storm of the century” – caused serious damage, including the loss of power to 3.4 million residents, the state avoided the worst-case scenario, and storm waves were not as huge as feared. Flooding and flooding were reported in many places, and in Tampa, the wind ripped off the roof of a baseball stadium where emergency workers were sheltering.
DeSantis said nearly 1,000 people had been rescued as of Friday. 23 search and rescue teams, water rescue units and the Florida National Guard are taking part in the search for the missing people. In one dramatic action, the team saved a single mother and her four children. The family was trapped in flood waters for seven hours.
Main photo source: Reuters