(WFLA/NEXSTAR) — The residents of an assisted living facility in Florida were assisted to safety with the help of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office early on Thursday morning after floodwaters from Hurricane Milton inundated the region.
“This is extraordinary to see this type of flooding, especially in this type of area,” said Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister in a video posted to social media amid the county’s response efforts.
“To see this unprecedented flooding, I can only imagine how scary it was,” Chronister added.
As of Thursday just before 10 a.m., the department estimated that over 135 residents of the Great American Assisted Living Community in Tampa were transported to drier conditions via rafts, airboats and amphibious vehicles.
Video shared by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office appeared to show floodwaters at waist-height near the entryways of Great American, with roads to and from the facility completely underwater.
“Great work. God bless you all!” one viewer wrote on X in response to the footage.
The emergency responses in Hillsborough County are just some of the rescue efforts currently underway in Florida after Hurricane Milton made landfall on Wednesday night, bringing devastating winds and storm surge to parts of Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota and Fort Myers.
The hurricane had weakened to a Category 1 storm by mid-morning on Thursday.
