• 2 months ago
First responders were working nonstop to save people in the days after Hurricane Milton's landfall, and their work isn't over yet.
Transcript
00:00With dogged determination, the Ocean Rescue Team of Volusia County walks door-to-door to check on weather-weary residents less than a day after Milton dropped more than 15 inches of rain in this tight-knit community.
00:16Hi Donna! Are you Donna?
00:19Hundreds of wellness checks, 911 calls and welfare requests poured into the Emergency Response Center of Volusia County.
00:28More than 175 people were plucked out of their homes and taken to dry land for two days after Milton slammed into Florida's Gulf Coast.
00:38Parts of the Sunshine State saw record rains in September, so the ground was already fully primed and already super saturated.
00:45Milton's rapid rain rates caused normally drier parts of Volusia County to flood in a matter of hours.
00:54Rescue crews from around Central Florida and even the National Guard were deployed to Volusia County to help in rescue efforts.
01:03As the initial sting of wind, rain and the inevitable flood damage is starting to sink in, many Floridians will now have to shift their worry to the long-haul impacts a hurricane can bring – freshwater flooding.
01:20A large part of this area straddles two large rivers – the Halifax and the St. Johns – and floodwaters are still rising, which means the threat of flooding could spill into the next several weeks or beyond.
01:33Every time there's a hurricane comes through this general area, water will recede either there or the Halifax. It just finds a place to go and luckily it's out of the houses, but then it starts filling up other areas obviously.
01:46Now residents begin the daunting task of prepping for yet another distant blow from Milton as rivers continue to rise. For AccuWeather, I'm Leslie Hudson reporting.

Recommended