Brandon men brave Hurricane Helene’s wrath to save people trapped by flood waters: ‘It was very eerie’
RUSKIN, Fla. - As Hurricane Helene's storm surge rushed into Tampa Bay, two Bay Area men set out to help anyone who may have been trapped by floodwaters.
David Wilson was in Brandon monitoring his parents' security cameras at their home in Ruskin when he saw the water begin to rise.
"We could just kind of slowly start seeing the water coming up and coming up," Wilson said.
Wilson then started seeing people who chose to ride out the storm pleading for rescue on Facebook, prompting him to react.
Wilson saw people in the area pleading for help on Facebook.
"I was like, you know what, I have the proper gear, I have lights, I have EPIRBS, I got life jackets," Wilson said. "I got everything I need to go help. Instead of sitting here and being comfortable in my bed, why don't I go help somebody that actually needs help?"
This led Wilson and his brother-in-law to load up his small boat and travel from Brandon to Ruskin to help people evacuate the area.
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According to Wilson, people began flagging them down when he and his brother-in-law got to Ruskin. Wilson described a father and his daughter wading in the water nearby and needing help.
Wilson said they say many homes on fires as they set out to rescue people.
"Found them two. We took them back as far back as we could without damaging the motor," Wilson said.
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As the pair returned to the area throughout the night to find more people, Wilson described the devastation they saw.
"It was like a movie scene. I mean, this looks like the end of the world. Like it was, it was scary," he said.
Hurricane Helene victims being rescued during the storm.
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Wilson described another man signaling them with a flashlight in a flooded trailer.
"He could barely speak, but he signaled he definitely needed help," Wilson said. Once they were in the boat, Wilson said it "probably was about a 35-minute drive all the way back to 41."
View of rising floodwaters during Hurricane Helene in the area.
As the water receded, David was forced to take his boat in at 4:30 a.m. but that was not before they made three rescues, assisted first responders, and secured someone's boat that was floating away.
"There are not enough people to help everybody. There are a lot more civilians than there are first responders out there. So, there's going to have to be civilians that want to step up and help when there are situations like this," Wilson said.
Wilson says that while he doesn’t know the people he rescued from the storm surge, he hopes to find them and talk to them on dry land.
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