Florida’s Gulf Coast took a direct hit from Hurricane Helene.
Residents of the state were fighting for their lives in the aftermath.
And a Florida surfer went to hell and back with one scary decision after Hurricane Helene.
Ordinary citizens step up to become heroes in the aftermath of Helene
Hurricane Helene slammed in the Big Bend region of Florida with winds at speeds up to 140 miles per hour and torrential rain.
The Category 4 hurricane was the strongest hurricane to ever make landfall in the Big Bend region.
Record storm surge hit communities all along the Gulf Coast bringing seawater mixed with mud pouring into communities.
Indian Rocks Beach, Florida is located on a barrier island on the Gulf of Mexico in the Tampa area.
The barrier islands in the Tampa area were hit with a storm surge that brought eight feet worth of water.
Residents were supposed to evacuate but many stayed behind because Helene was supposed to make landfall far north of their location.
Indian Rocks Beach surfer Marty Thomas used his surfboard to save over a dozen people and their pets who were stranded in flooded houses after the storm surge hit.
Anne McIntosh was trapped in her home and could not even open the doors because of the water on the outside.
“The beds were floating. The couch was floating,” McIntosh told Fox 13. “My brother and his wife were on the counters.”
Thomas heard the three of them screaming for help and grabbed his surfboard.
“I was walking around in the back unit just thinking, ‘what am I going to do?’ And all of a sudden I hear a voice, and he’s saying, ‘We’ll get you. We’ll get you.’ And it was Marty,” McIntosh recalled.
Thomas and a friend were able to get the door open and take them one by one to safety.
“You’re the angel of the city,” McIntosh said about Thomas.
An unlikely rescue mission
Thomas spent hours going around the flooded city rescuing people.
He came across one resident who had a dog in need of rescue.
“She had the St. Bernard, which is a heavy dog, you know, so she couldn’t lift the dog,” Thomas said. “So, I just picked the dog up and threw it out the window. He jumped right on the paddle board and was good.”
Thomas’ friend was on the second floor with a flashlight looking for survivors.
“He saved us,” McIntosh said. “He got the door open. He paddled us across to safety. And just as an angel walking.”
Thomas downplayed his accomplishments.
“Anne is tough. She didn’t even need my help,” Thomas said. “It was up to here on her. She was carrying stuff on her head.”
McIntosh said that Indian Rocks Beach had never flooded before during a storm.
“I never flood,” McIntosh stated. “Well, I flooded. I’ve learned a good lesson. Thanks to my angel here. I have a choice. Next time, I will evacuate.”
McIntosh and the residents of the city are thankful he stepped up after the storm.
“He’s an angel walking. He is the hero of Indian Rocks Beach now,” McIntosh told Thomas. “And you do it so gracefully. Thank you. And I love you for it. And you deserve all the good things in life.”
DeSantis Daily will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this ongoing story.
