ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — First responders in St. Johns County are hoping lessons from Hurricane Irma will encourage people to take evacuation warnings more seriously in the next storm.
“Hello! We're trapped. We tried to get out of our house. It was flooding, we’re submerged in water in the truck and we can't get out,” said one 911 caller.
That was just one of the frantic calls that came in to St. Johns County as Hurricane Irma was battering our area.
St. Johns County Deputy Mohammad Toubaili was the first to get there.
“You couldn't see 5 feet in front you, there was water up to your knees initially we ended up going through water up to our chest,” Toubaili said.
Action News Jax video shows the wind picking up in St. Augustine Sunday night into Monday morning as Irma swept through.
“They were terrified. When we opened the door initially, they had some relief on their faces and we ended up getting them out,” Toubaili said.
On the other side of the county, St. Augustine Beach police Officer Tyler Thompson was also responding to a call for help.
“We all looked at each other without hesitation, we got into our vehicles and started heading that way,” Thompson said. “At some point we linked arms with them just to help them through the water because the water was so deep.”
Thompson said they had to use a front-end loader to get through the deep water and check if anyone else needed help.
“We all stood on the part that lifts up the dirt. We all stood on that. There was probably about six of us on there and we did a patrol around that neighborhood,” Thompson said.
Chief Robert Hardwick said the front-end loader proved to be very effective.
“I think from here on out, I think we'll have a front-end loader on standby at our jurisdiction during these major storms,” Hardwick said.
Thanks to their efforts, those calling for help got out safely, but even the caller recognized she should have evacuated.
“Oh my God, I should've left!” said the 911 caller.
“Let this be a lesson that you see it firsthand here. We're putting our lives at risk to get people out so when we give that warning, try and get out as soon as you can,” Toubaili said.
Hardwick said even though some people didn’t evacuate when told, he doesn’t blame them.
“I think they ran out of places to go, not knowing where this storm was going to go,” Hardwick said.
Hardwick said he hopes people won’t get complacent, and will learn from Hurricane Matthew and now Hurricane Irma.
While some didn’t evacuate, many others did.
Hardwick said the three tornadoes that hit St. Johns County really woke people up to what Mother Nature can do.
Sheriff David Shoar and officers from the St. Augustine Police Department also responded to calls for help at the height of the storm.
Cox Media Group
