On Wednesday, as Hurricane Ian pummeled southwest Florida, turning roadways into raging rivers, firemen and good Samaritans rushed to save vehicles stuck in the rising floodwaters.
Firefighters in Naples, Collier County, waded into waist-deep water to save a woman stuck inside her automobile.
A firefighter can be seen busting a glass in the automobile before taking the woman through the flooded street to safety in a video provided by the Naples Fire-Rescue Department.
Naples firefighters rescue woman from flooded car'GET THE LIFE VEST': Water rescuers in Naples, Florida waded through waist-deep floodwater to rescue a woman trapped in her car as Hurricane Ian battered Florida’s west coast with Category 4 force winds, rain, and flood surge. https://bit.ly/3y0GUAJ
Posted by WFLA News Channel 8 on Thursday, September 29, 2022
Please let this serve as a reminder to remain off the roadways when flooding is anticipated, the department said in a Facebook post.
Nevertheless, in adjacent Bonita Springs, a Lee County community, good Samaritans were shown on camera dragging an elderly man through rapid floodwaters after he became stranded inside his automobile.
They observed an older man battling in his car and realized he needed aid, one of the rescuers, Benny, explained.
Good Samaritans rescue man from flooded vehicle during Hurricane IanTO THE RESCUE: A group of Good Samaritans saved a man stuck in surging waters in Bonita Springs, Florida, as Hurricane Ian hit the state. https://abcn.ws/3SsqR6T
Posted by ABC News on Thursday, September 29, 2022
The guys all kept grabbing the door and prying it open, he added. He was a little stunned, so he didn’t want to let go, so they told him they were there to rescue him, and the guys cautiously lifted him out of the car and carried him to shore, away from the water.
Hurricane Ian, one of the most powerful storms to ever hit the United States, has knocked out electricity to at least 2.5 million people and caused devastating floods.
Police in nearby Fort Myers got complaints from people stuck in waterlogged houses or anxious relatives. Requests were also made on social media, with some accompanied by footage of debris-covered water surging approaching the eaves of their homes.
Rescue teams sawed through downed trees to reach individuals in flooded houses, but with no electricity and almost no phone coverage, many individuals in the hardest-hit coastal districts where the surge rushed in were unable to call for aid.
