Hurricane Ian: Sunrise cameraman stops filming to rescue people from rising waters in Florida
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Dramatic moment Sunrise cameraman drops his equipment to help Florida residents fleeing deadly hurricane
- Hurricane Ian has made landfall and wreaked havoc in Florida in the southeastern US
- Channel 7 correspondent did live cross when cameraman stopped filming
- Glen Ellis rushed to help several residents fleeing the rising waters of belongings
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An Australian cameraman has stopped filming in the middle of a living cross to help people flee rising waters during one of the worst storms on record.
Hurricane Ian made landfall overnight, devastating the US state of Florida overnight, leaving millions without power and destroying hundreds of homes.
Reaching ‘catastrophic’ winds of up to 150mph, it is one of the largest hurricanes ever recorded and has been described by authorities as ‘life-threatening’ after previously causing fatalities in Cuba.
The sunrise came live to Channel Seven US correspondent Tim Lester early Thursday morning in the city of Naples on the Gulf of Mexico in southwest Florida.
As Lester described the harrowing conditions, his cameraman Glen Ellis abruptly stopped filming and rushed to the aid of people struggling to wade through the rising waters.
One was holding a child’s hand while carrying things.
“Go on, go on,” Lester tells him.
Glen Ellis (right) helped several hurricane victims carry their belongings to higher ground as Hurricane Ian hits Naples in southwest Florida
Sunrise host David Koch asks if they are okay.
“It’s a huge storm, yes it’s going well,” continues Lester.
“We’re just helping some people through the water here, that’s our cameraman, Glen, out there. I think you can tell he’s trying to help people who are leaving their homes.’
As Lester continues to report, Ellis is seen helping more hurricane victims carry their belongings away from the rising waters.
“We’ve talked to a few of them and they’re already telling us that their houses have gone into the water, they’ve been flooded and they’ve had to leave them,” Lester explained.
“They just can’t do it any other way. But they’re trying to get out and obviously what we have here is relatively high, so we’re lucky enough to be able to talk to you.”
Channel Seven cameraman Glen Ellis stopped filming during a Sunrise live cross to rush outside to help residents fleeing rising water
Hurricane Ian has been described by authorities as one of the worst storms ever. Pictured is the damage in Fort Myers, Florida
Local residents report that hundreds are stranded on their rooftops, with the city’s population mostly made up of elderly residents.
More than 1.3 million citizens are without power and the damage bill is estimated at more than $45 billion.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis warned citizens in an evening address that the worst may be yet to come.
“This storm is doing some business in the state of Florida,” the governor said, adding that citizens can expect the storm to sweep through the state today and “much of tomorrow,” he said.
He urged residents who decided to brave the storm to stay in their properties or emergency bunkers as the hurricane devastated the coastline with near-category five powers.
It comes just days after Cuba was ravaged by the vicious hurricane, which killed millions of dollars in damage and at least two people.
Hurricane Ian is expected to remain at hurricane strength for the next 24 hours as it rages over Florida.
“Right now, we expect it to eventually weaken below hurricane strength sometime tonight or early Thursday morning,” Michael Brennan of the National Hurricane Center told CNN.
“It will take some time for that circulation to get going.”
Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida on the west coast of the US. Pictured is a trail of destruction in Fort Myers, Florida