Neighbors band together to help others during Sarasota flood

SARASOTA, Fla. - Emergency response teams in Sarasota spent the day rescuing people trapped by Hurricane Debby's floodwaters.

By mid-afternoon Monday, Sarasota PD said more than 500 people had been transported to higher ground amid ongoing water rescue efforts.

In one community, FOX 13 found neighbors helping those stranded by the water.

"I was amazed how bad it is. It's pretty deep. It's very dangerous too," said Joe Stewart from Sarasota, who spent the day using his 4x4 to bring gas to neighbors and help people in and out of isolated areas.

"They are flooded out. They can’t get out of their houses. We need a lot of help down here," he said.

Many of the city and county emergency rescue crews were working in high priority areas. CJ McCormick and his organization, One Mission Disaster response, stepped in.

PHOTOS: Hurricane Debby blasts Tampa with heavy rain, flooding

"It’s the worst I’ve seen," said McCormick, who delivered buckets of supplies and groceries to those surrounded by water and helped bring people to safety.

He said he even rescued drivers from sunken cars.

"It’s nice when the community is able to come together for this area here," said McCormick.

Christine Delmonte needed to take her 90 and 87-year-old in-laws their medication, but the floodwaters made it an impossible mission.

A stranger offered a kayak. She was able to kayak into her in-laws, make the delivery and see her in-laws' smiling faces. She said their home was untouched by the surrounding water.

She paddled back, with peace of mind.

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"That was pretty amazing, so I’m very happy that they were kind enough to share (the kayak) so I could get the medication to my in-laws today," she said.

Not too far away, rising waters did make it into Derreck Thibodeaux’s home, with no telling when they’d recede. 

"It’s tough, but we are going to get through it," said Thibodeaux.

And they're not alone. Melissa Derstine has called Courtland Street off of Bahia Vista home for 21 years.

"I have never seen it this bad. I was told about 35 years ago it flooded like this, but I’ve never seen it this bad. Water in my house and I’m high compared to everybody else. All my neighbors have a foot if not more," she told FOX 13.

That water came from torrential rains and from Phillippi Creek.

While her own home has damage, Melissa and others worked to help neighbors.

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"Everybody needs somebody’s help. And they need help. An elderly gentleman can’t get out of his wheelchair, can’t walk. Somebody has got to do it," said Derstine.

Some neighbors, they know. Others, they’re just meeting. 

Renea Edmonds and Anthony Derosa used paddle boards to check on neighboring streets. 

"I noticed in my neighbor’s yard the water was about to the bottom of the tires, so I started texting and calling him. Within 30 minutes my kid came out everyone came out. The water was already up to our knees. It rose quickly. By the time the firetruck got here they had to back it up because it was coming in the door of the firetruck that quickly, they went down the street and they were trying to help and save people," said Edmonds. 

From four in the morning through the afternoon, Renea, Anthony and her service dog Manakoa worked to bring comfort and help. 

"It’s our neighborhood. We’ve got a lot of elderly people here and a lot of people this is a flash flood. People didn’t know this was going to happen. We didn’t even know this was going to happen. We knew we were getting a lot of rain but people needed help and this is what you do as a community a family and a team," she said. 

Derosa said he never second guessed going to help others. 

"This is the first time for me doing something like this. Helping people in general it isn’t, but in this aspect it’s just a little bit stressful and I’m sure on other people as well," he said. 

As neighbors worked together so did first responders from Sarasota, North Port, Englewood and Port Charlotte coming together to help navigate the floodwaters. 

"Everybody is coming together, everybody is helping each other. We will get through this," said Derstine. 

Sarasota County Public Utilities asks the public to refrain from opening manhole covers to try to reduce street flooding. 

Opening manhole covers during a heavy rainfall event puts stress on the wastewater collection systems, which can lead to wastewater spills. 

If you see an open manhole cover, please call 311 to report it.

Sarasota County opened an evacuation center for those displaced by flood waters, about 40 people were using it as of Monday night.