Floodwaters from Hurricane Helen quickly engulfed a small hospital in Tennessee near the riverbank, and officials first tried to rescue patients with ambulances. Then the road was washed away.
They tried to move people to the center of the low building, but were blocked by water.
When the rescue boat arrived, the water was too dangerous to get out of.
Eventually, dozens of staff and patients went to the roof to wait to be taken to safety, while several others remained in rescue boats, but the winds were howling and brown water was nearby. It was gushing out, and there was rubble underneath.
All were rescued within hours.
The dramatic scene at Unicoi County Hospital in Irwin, Tennessee, near the North Carolina border, was one of several that unfolded in the American South after Helen.
Floods caused by storm surge and rain prompted thousands of police officers, firefighters, National Guard troops and others to help. Several hundred people were saved, but at least 44 people died.
“It was just a godsend that we had enough people to move people up to the roof,” said Tennessee hospital administrator Jennifer Hara. told WJHL-TV. “And we were able to put the non-ambulatory patients on the boat and keep them safe, and we were able to put the healthcare workers on the boat with the patients. And we protected them with some walls. It felt like it was placed in a corner.
Unicoi County Hospital tried to evacuate 11 patients and dozens of others Friday morning after the Nolichucky River overflowed its banks and flooded the facility, but the water was flooded by boats dispatched by the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency. The situation was so dangerous that it was impossible to pass through.
The decision was made to direct more than 50 people to the roof. Another seven people were temporarily trapped on the rescue ship. Ballard Health, which operates a small 10-bed hospital, asked the public for prayers while providing updates on social media.
Strong winds prevented other helicopters from reaching the hospital, but a Virginia State Police helicopter was able to land on the roof.
Officials said three National Guard helicopters with hoist capabilities were dispatched, and Ballard Health assisted with its own helicopters.
Ballard Health said in a subsequent post that staff and dozens of patients were all rescued about four hours after they were taken to the roof of the hospital. The patient was transferred to another facility, leaving the hospital empty.
“The water was coming up faster and creating more debris than we could safely operate on a raft back to the hospital from a dry point,” said Tennessee Emergency Operations Director Patrick Sheehan. ” he said.
Meanwhile, in Florida, 1,500 search and rescue personnel will focus on securing and stabilizing affected areas over the weekend, said Kevin Guthrie, the state's emergency management director.
The Category 4 storm made landfall on Florida's northwest coast late Thursday, causing storm surge flooding across the state's Gulf Coast.
“These types of rescue operations are happening today and will continue, so please don't go out into the affected areas,” Guthrie said at a news conference Friday in Tallahassee, Florida's capital. “Please, don't disturb them.”
Reported rescues range from life-threatening situations to people trapped in their homes in waist-high water and unable to escape on their own.
An unprecedented 8-foot storm surge killed five people and forced dozens of people to be rescued in Pinellas County, some forced to take shelter in their attics. Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said all the deaths occurred in areas where authorities had told residents to evacuate, but many ignored the warnings.
He said survivors told lawmakers they didn't believe the warnings, although they heard from other residents that the tsunami wasn't that bad.
“We made our case. We told people what they needed to do, and they chose to do something different,” Gualtieri said.
Gualtieri said his deputies tried throughout the night to reach those trapped, but some areas were not safe. Pinellas County also includes St. Petersburg.
“I've been there personally. We tried to launch boats, we tried to use high-water vehicles, and we ran into too many obstacles,” Gualtieri said. Ta. He said the death toll could rise as emergency workers go door to door in flooded areas to check for survivors.
In neighboring Hillsborough County, which includes Tampa, the sheriff's office rescued more than 300 people from storm surge overnight.
Spokeswoman Amanda Granit said the victims included a 97-year-old woman with dementia and her 63-year-old daughter, who were surprised by the flooding and needed help evacuating their flooded home. He said he needed it. A 19-year-old woman got stuck while driving through rising water and was unable to get out.
Granit said deputies had so many people involved in the rescue effort that they had to request county transit buses to get residents to safety.
“Deputies were unable to move them fast enough for the patrol car,” Granit said.
In the Tampa Bay Area city of South Pasadena, rescue video shows a house on fire amid flooded roads early Friday morning. More than 100 rescues were reported in other counties along the Gulf Coast.
When storm surge water reached Kera O'Neal's knees inside her Hudson home, 45 miles north of Tampa, she knew she had to flee with her sister and two cats.
“If this water were to rise above the height of the stove, there would be moments where we would think there would be very little room to breathe,” she said.
O'Neill and his sister waded through chest-deep water with one cat in a plastic carrier and the other in a cardboard box. They took shelter on a neighbor's elevated property until Pasco County firefighters arrived in a raft to rescue them and three others.
“I'm a Florida girl and have lived here since I was a child,” she said. “We've never experienced anything like this.”
At sea, the Coast Guard said it rescued three boaters and their pets from the storm in separate incidents.
Coast Guard video footage of Thursday's helicopter rescue shows a man and his Irish Setter stranded 45 miles offshore in the bay on a 36-foot sailboat in rough seas. Ta.
The video shows a man putting his dog in a yellow rescue vest, pushing it into the raging sea, and then diving in himself.
Coast Guard swimmers helped them into rescue baskets, and they were hoisted into a helicopter.
More than 100 rapid-water rescues were conducted in North Carolina on Friday as Helen's rains caused widespread flooding, particularly in the western part of the state. Gov. Roy Cooper said flash flooding is threatening lives and causing numerous landslides.
“The priority right now is to save lives,” Cooper said, urging people to stay off the roads unless they are seeking higher ground.
“This is one of the worst storms in modern history for parts of western North Carolina, in part because it was raining even before Helen arrived,” Cooper said.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp said crews were working to rescue people trapped in more than 115 homes.
Helen's rains flooded homes in the Hanover West neighborhood north of Atlanta. Neighbor Richard Sims said emergency workers were able to extract several people from the home.
