CLEARWATER, Fla. — First responders rescued more than 500 people from a flooded apartment complex in Clearwater.
Clearwater Police, Clearwater Fire & Rescue, and Pinellas County Sheriff's Office rescued people who were trapped by rising water at The Standard on Drew Street.
“We deployed 20 boats, high water vehicles, a swamp buggy from FWC, and during the course of that 565 people were removed and rescued from this property, with 116 of them being children,” says Clearwater Police Chief Eric Gandy.
Now, residents are coming back to grab what they can.
"We got a little bit of family, you know, that's around the area in Clearwater that we can go, you know, try to lay our heads down, but to wrap our head around it, we have nowhere to really go. We got to go to work. We have kids. They got to go to school. And we have no clothes, you know, we won't get what we can so, it's rough. It's rough," says Ricshardo Scott, a resident at The Standard.
Calls began coming in overnight from residents who were trapped, but first responders weren't able to get there due to high winds from Hurricane Milton. They were finally able to respond shortly before sunrise.
Crews arrived to water that was chest-deep and neck-deep in some locations. There were vehicles that were completely submerged.
No significant injuries were reported.
Mayor Bruce Rector also spoke at the press conference Saturday morning, where he thanked first responders and the community for coming together.
"I just want to say that we're we're working with all these organizations that want to provide relief. Several of them are here today. Calvary Church is here today, and a number of others providing life assistance to these folks," says Rector.
Rector also added that anyone in need of help can call the city staff.
"If they have any needs at all, please reach out to our city staff, and we'll try to connect them with the relief organizations that are providing important services to this community," says Rector.
Anyone affected by the flooding who needs help or resources is being urged to reach out to City staff at (727) 562-4682.
A state report says hundreds of frail elderly nursing home residents were stacked side by side, head to toe in a small church with no working air conditioning or refrigerator during Hurricane Helene.
