CLEARWATER, Fla. — First responders rescued more than 500 people from a flooded apartment complex Thursday morning in Clearwater following Hurricane Milton.
Residents at The Standard apartment complex on Drew Street were found chest-deep and neck-deep in rising waters from Hurricane Milton, Clearwater Police and Fire Rescue crews shared on Facebook.
Calls reportedly came in overnight as Hurricane Milton raged through Florida, but first responders weren't able to act due to the storm's high winds. Once the storm subsided, police and fire crews were able to venture out to the apartment complex.
They arrived to find more than 500 people trapped in their homes from rising flood waters and called in other agencies for help, including the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, FWC, the Bay County Sheriff's Office and the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office.
"Crews used a variety of high-water vehicles to access the residents and bring them to safety," police said in a news release. "Many were taken to local shelters provided for evacuees from the hurricane."
No significant injuries were reported during the rescue. A total of 565 people, including 116 children, were rescued from 188 first-floor units, Clearwater Police Chief Eric Gandy said in a news conference Saturday.
Gandy said that, in their efforts to check on the welfare of first-floor residents, they realized they would have to evacuate the entire complex.
"We found ourselves consistently rescuing folks from the second floor as well, and we made a decision to make it a mandatory evac for even those folks," he said. "Because we would pass them by and say, 'Do you need help?' 'No,' and only 15 minutes later, they'd say, 'Yeah, come get us now.'"
Now, Gandy said agencies are working through the "recovery phase" with the company that manages the property, assessing what resources may be needed. He added that part of this is securing the facility until it is proven to be safe again following a series of inspections.
"If you were evacuated from The Standard apartment complex this morning because of high water, do not wait around for re-entry. It is not safe," Clearwater firefighters shared on Facebook. "The apartment complex will let you know when it’s safe to return, and we will also share that information on social media."
At the news conference, Gandy said he could not remember an incident like this occurring in his 32 years of being here.
"The closest would have been, probably the No Name Storm in '93 on the beach, where we pulled out 60, 100 people, but nothing like this," he said.
