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Hurricane Ian: Wild video shows National Guardsmen pushing truck through Florida floodwaters

By FOX 35 News Staff
Updated  September 29, 2022 5:46pm EDT
Hurricane Ian
FOX 35 Orlando

Hurricane Ian aftermath: National Guard helps rescue Florida residents from floodwaters

Members of the National Guard were seen in floodwaters helping rescue residents in Sarasota, Florida Thursday afternoon following the devastation left behind by Hurricane Ian.

SARASOTA, Fla. - SKYFOX flew over southwestern Florida to survey the path of destruction left behind by Hurricane Ian and captured wild video of multiple National Guardsmen trying to navigate through floodwaters.

In the video, the group of seven are seen pushing their vehicle down the heavily flooded Sarasota, Florida, road. The camera on the chopper then zooms out, showing at least two nearby vehicles stuck in the water, and a man outside one of them seeking help.

The National Guard members seen in Sarasota are among the thousands of guardsmen positioned across central and southwest Florida to help the communities devastated by Ian.

First look at Lee County storm damage after Hurricane Ian

Lee County, Florida, Sheriff Cermine Marceno shared helicopter video of the damage in Lee County after Hurricane Ian pummeled them Wednesday. "We are devastated. Our hearts go out to every resident who is impacted."

"We’re hurt by the significant devastation we’re seeing and the impact on the lives of Florida citizens,"Army Gen. Daniel Hokanson, the chief of the National Guard Bureau, said in a statement. "In the immediate aftermath, search and rescue will be the focus. Our concern is saving lives and getting our folks in there as quickly as possible to make a difference in that critical time to get people out of situations that may be potentially life-threatening to them."

Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida at a category 4 storm with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph, leaving a trail of destruction across the state, causing thousands to lose power and leading to at least one confirmed death in Deltona, though authorities fear the toll could be far higher as rescue efforts continue.

Several rescue efforts in both central and southwest Florida began Thursday morning. 

VIDEO: Airboats on street during flooding in Kissimmee

Emergency officials are in Kissimmee, Florida, where they're helping people stuck in stranded vehicles. We also saw airboats from Wild Florida driving around, presumably to help rescue people who were stuck following torrential rainfall as Hurricane Ian made its way across Central Florida.

As of 2 p.m. more than 500 people have been rescued in Charlotte and Lee counties since operations began. Search and rescue efforts are ongoing.