Heroic hurricane reporter rescues Orlando nurse by carrying her on his BACK through waist-high water
>
An uplifting video shows a reporter in hurricane-stricken Orlando engaging in a heartwarming rescue of a woman who attempted to traverse the city’s flooded streets in her car Thursday morning.
The heroic act, captured by the journalist’s camera crew, came during NBC affiliate WESH 2’s live coverage of Hurricane Ian – and has since seen intrepid reporter Tony Atkins hailed as a hero.
Posted to social media just hours after the heart-pounding rescue, the footage shows Atkins carrying the woman, who was reportedly a nurse on her way to work, out of the window of her almost fully submerged vehicle.
Braving floodwaters that reached up to his waist, the selfless journalist carried the stranded citizen on his back, wading through the current to bring her to safety.
If that was not enough, Atkins accomplished the commendable feat all while dutifully clutching the woman’s purse, keeping it dry above the floodwater.
Photos show the full extent of such flooding in the city, where first responders braved overflowed streets in seven feet of water to rescue residents left stranded in Ian’s wake.
When asked why he bravely rushed to the woman’s aide – likely risking his life in the process – Atkins simply said, ‘I just had to.’
Scroll down for video:
Braving floodwaters that reached up to his waist, the selfless journalist carries the stranded citizen on his back, wading through the raging current to bring her to safety – all while dutifully keeping her purse dry
Video shows a reporter in hurricane-stricken Orlando engaging in a heartwarming rescue of a woman who attempted to traverse the city’s still-flooded streets in her car Thursday morning
The heroic act, captured by the journalist’s camera crew, came during NBC affiliate WESH 2’s live coverage of Hurricane Ian – and has since seen reporter Tony Atkins hailed as a hero
Officials have said that is extremely dangerous to drive through floodwaters and should not be attempted
When asked why he bravely rushed to the woman’s aide – likely risking his life in the process – WESH 2’d Atkins simply said, ‘I just had to’
According to Atkins, the woman – who was not named – had elected to take her car out in the early hours despite the dangerous conditions due to the fact that she feared she would lose her job if she called in.
‘Our woman from early this morning made it to work,’ Atkins, a former journalist in Milwaukee, shared in a update on the woman’s situation Thursday.
‘Her job as a nurse hung in the balance, according to her daughter,’ he added. ‘I got this message from her daughter today.’
The journalist’s post included a heartfelt and grateful message to Atkins sent by the unidentified woman’s daughter.
‘So glad things worked out,’ he wrote.
Posted to social media just hours after the heart-pounding rescue, the footage shows Atkins carrying the woman out of the window of her almost fully submerged vehicle
Atkins accomplished the commendable feat all while dutifully clutching the woman’s purse, keeping it dry above the floodwater
The footage shows Atkins braving hurricane force winds as he carried out the thrilling rescue
With the purse still in hand, Atkins waded the two of them through the worst of the flooding
In a post to Twitter after the incident, Atkins revealed that the woman – who was not named – had elected to take her car out in the early hours despite the dangerous conditions due to the fact that she feared she would lose her job if she called in
The journalist’s post included a heartfelt and grateful message to Atkins sent by the unidentified woman’s daughter
The clip of the daring rescue, shared to social media by Atkins’ colleagues, has since gone viral, with his coworkers and fellow Floridians touting the reporter’s heroics.
‘During our live coverage, our reporter @TonyAtkinsTV stopped to save a woman who got stuck in some heavy flooding,’ fellow WESH staffer Caelan Dooley wrote in an impassioned post to Twitter as the video began to circulate online.
‘What a hero,’ she added.
Fellow reporter Marlei Martinez, meanwhile, echoed those congratulatory sentiments – while also pointing out that her colleague, despite the danger, saw to it that the woman’s purse was also kept safe.
‘My colleague, Tony Atkins, just did this! Incredible,’ Martinez tweeted early Thursday, shortly after the rescue. ‘I also love how he carried her purse the whole way too.’
The clip of the daring rescue, shared to social media by Atkins’ colleagues, has since gone viral, with his coworkers and fellow Floridians touting the reporter’s heroics
According to Atikins, there had been no law enforcement or others in the area who could of potentially helped the stuck woman.
He explained: ‘I just used caution, and I just decided to slowly make my way out there and just help her out.’
The thoughtful newsman would then add: ‘I’m just glad she got home safe.’
He has since been celebrated for saving the woman’s life.
According to Atikins, there had been no law enforcement or others in the area who could of potentially helped the stuck woman
When asked why he bravely rushed to the woman’s aide – likely risking his life in the process – Atkins simply said, ‘I just had to’
In another post to social media following the incident, Atkins said he had seen other hospital workers, including an ambulance, attempt navigate the flooded roads and make it into work – and had subsequently nearly gone into the floodwater.
The journalist proceeded to warn residents of the current conditions in the city as the storm passed over Central Florida after pummeling cities on its southwest coast earlier in the day.
He shared a map he said he hoped would help others find a clear street.
‘Ambulance almost drives into large ponding on South Orange,’ the reporter wrote in a post that showed video of the emergency vehicle trudging through several inches of water before reaching a pitfall where levels were at least three feet deep.
‘I really try not to offer my own opinion on news matters,’ Atkins wrote, appealing to the local community. ‘But I suggest there should be something alerting drivers of this ponding beside the tape drivers will only see as they reach the edge of the water.’
In another post to social media following the incident, Atkins said he had seen other hospital workers, including an ambulance, attempt navigate the flooded roads and make it into work – and had subsequently nearly gone into the floodwater
Those warnings from the ever thoughtful journalist came as Ian regained hurricane status Thursday after causing widespread flooding and damage across the state, before veering off land over the Atlantic.
At least 17 across several counties have been confirmed dead, with extensive flooding seen in Fort Meyers, Naples, and several other southwestern and central cities.
More than 2.6 million Florida homes and businesses are still without power as of early Friday.
Despite this, though, Florida residents by and large were spotted tempting fate by braving historic Hurricane Ian Wednesday and Thursday to wakeboard, wave American flags, and even swim in flooded cities – despite raging swells that reached upwards of 18 feet.
ORLANDO: Photos show the extent of such flooding in Orlando, where first responders braved overflowed streets in seven feet of water to rescue residents left stranded
A man carries a can of gasoline to his home in Orlando after the central city was left flooded by heavy rains from Hurricane Ian
Abandoned cars littered the flooded streets of Orlando Wednesday evening, leaving several commuters stranded on roads
Florida residents by and large were spotted tempting fate by braving historic Hurricane Ian Wednesday and Thursday to wakeboard, wave American flags, and even swim in flooded cities – despite raging swells that reached upwards of 18 feet
The offenders came from cities across the southwest coast of the peninsula, where the brunt of the storm, as well as Orlando, where rescue officials were deployed across the city Thursday to engage in various rescues
Photos show officials deployed in Orlando to rescue some of these citizens, many of whom underestimated the extent of the storm
Other people in the area flocked to take shelter or found themselves trapped on rooftops as water levels rapidly rose
The ill-advised antics saw some of the daredevils forced to be saved by rescue officials, after defying warnings from city officials such as Governor Ron DeSantis to stay put and wait out the tempest
The extremely dangerous conditions brought by Ian have left much of the state in shambles
The offenders came from cities across the southwest coast of the peninsula, where the brunt of the storm, as well as Orlando – where some foolish Floridians awoke to wakeboard or boat in the temporary surf, while thousands elsewhere likely remained trapped in their homes.
Photos show officials deployed in Orlando to rescue some of these citizens, many of whom underestimated the extent of the storm.
Other people in the area flocked to take shelter or found themselves trapped on rooftops as water levels rapidly rose.
The ill-advised antics saw some of the daredevils forced to be saved by rescue officials, after defying warnings from city officials such as Governor Ron DeSantis to stay put and wait out the tempest.
Meanwhile, the extremely dangerous conditions brought by Ian have left much of the state in shambles, as Georgia and the Carolinas prepare for the now Category 1 storm’s second US landfall Friday morning.
The impacts of Ian, which made landfall in the beachside city as a Category 4 hurricane early Wednesday, has left officials to scrambling to address extensive infrastructure damage and likely deaths,
Some residents in the heavily populated city deployed boats to survey the damage done to their neighborhoods. Pictured are two such intrepid residents, astounded by an almost fully submerged Corvette
A stalled car is shown on a flooded street after Hurricane Ian caused damage and flooding in Orlando. Officials have warned residents in stricken cities against braving still flooded streets as to not slow officials rescue efforts
Citizens are pictured traversing still-overflowed streets in Orlando, where water levels were still up to their knees by morning
So far, the state has carried out more than 700 confirmed rescues, Governor Ron DeSantis revealed during a 7:30 pm press update Thursday.
The chaos has also also sparked looting in some areas, officials in Lee County revealed, resulting in the activation of a county-wide curfew that will effect more than 413,000 citizens.
Both the looting and ill-advised attempts to traverse the dangerous flooding seen across the state brazenly defied warnings from lawmen across the county that ‘looting and violence’ in the aftermath would ‘not be tolerated’ Thursday.
Officials also said that is extremely dangerous to drive through floodwaters and should not be attempted.
The storm is expected to make landfall in Georgia in the Carolinas after 8am.
Some Orlando residents elected to make the most of their current situation, taking to the water to wakeboard and engage in other aquatic activities
Roadways in the Central Florida metropolis remained hopelessly damaged and unpassable on Thursday, as it did in other cities along the state’s southwest coast, where the brunt of the storm was felt
Boys skim board on a flooded street in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in Orlando Thursday morning. Officials have warned citizens against such activities
A police car blocks off a flooded street in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in Orlando on Thursday. the storm has since passed Florida and is poised to make a second US landfall along the Carolinas and Georgia
Parks and other public areas like this one in downtown Florida have remained closed in the wake of the disaster, which has been labeled one of the worst in state history
A rescue official in Orlando is pictured pulling a dog from the flooding on Thursday. More than 700 rescue operations have taken place since the storm made landfall Wednesday