LITHIA, Fla. — Major flooding is occurring along the Alafia River and even more is forecast.
According to the National Weather Service, the river will crest at a record 24.9 feet. Flood state is 13 feet.
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister told ABC Action News reporter Michael Paluska the water came up so quickly that people couldn’t escape.
“Just to put it in perspective, we are a mile from the river,” Chronister said. “It came so fast, and you can imagine how frightened they are, because they were just unprepared. They figured they had a few days.”
“When did you start plucking people out of the water?” Paluska asked.
"First thing this morning, we got our first call. When I got here, they were bringing people from jet skis, we were bringing people on our air boats, our boats, every resource that we have is down here,” Chronister said.
Good Samaritans even rescued a pig from the flood waters.
We went out with deputies checking on residents. A deputy with the marine unit piloting our boat said some people decided to leave, while others didn’t heed the warning and stayed in their homes.
Florida Senator Rick Scott held a news conference with the sheriff at the staging area following an airboat tour of the destruction. Scott told Chronister he is already working with federal agencies to help people impacted by the floods.
As flood waters continue to rise throughout the evening, more rescues are anticipated.
