Southeast
Drone video captures Florida woman's rescue after she got stuck in rising waters during Debby aftermath
A drone video has captured a woman being rescued in Florida after her vehicle started drifting away in rising floodwaters caused by Hurricane Debby.
The dramatic footage was taken along a road in Parrish in southwestern Florida on Tuesday as officials in Manatee County were surveying damage from the storm, which moved through the region a day earlier.
“It’s swift water man,” Manatee County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge could be heard telling a 911 dispatcher after the driver of an SUV was seen being pulled through the window of her vehicle to safety.
The footage begins by showing the vehicle stalling as the driver tried to cross a heavily flooded road.
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A woman is seen being pulled out of an SUV that was stuck in floodwaters on Tuesday, Aug. 6, in Parrish, Florida, in the aftermath of Hurricane Debby. (Manatee County)
The SUV then starts drifting backwards in the fast-moving waters.
An individual then approaches the vehicle in waist-deep water and hoists the woman out of it, before two others help him lead her to a truck farther down the road.
Drone footage captured the SUV attempting to cross a heavily flooded road in southwest Florida. (Manatee County)
“While conducting damage assessments, Manatee County officials — Manatee County Public Safety Department Director Jodie Fiske, Chief of Staff Andy Butterfield, Drone Operator Stuart Shinn, Deputy County Administrator Bryan Parnell, County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge and Manatee Board of Commissioner’s Chair Mike Rahn — along with an additional Good Samaritan, witnessed a vehicle driving through rising waters,” Manatee County said in a statement.
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Multiple people came to the rescue of the trapped driver in Parrish, Florida. (Manatee County)
“Remember: Turn around. Don’t Drown,” it added.
Debby is now a tropical storm and is centered around South Carolina on Thursday.
The storm made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane in Florida’s Big Bend region on Monday, according to FOX Weather.
The woman was eventually brought to vehicles seen waiting in the distance in Parrish. (Manatee County)
At least five deaths are being attributed to the storm in Florida and Georgia, FOX Weather adds.
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