Latest news with #floodrescue
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
‘He died 3 times': Community rallies for Pasco deputy's recovery after flood rescue
PASCO COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — A Pasco County deputy who nearly died in the line of duty is being honored by his community as he continues a long and difficult recovery from a near-fatal flood rescue. Deputy Buddy Allman was surveying neighborhoods in Dade City during hurricane conditions in October 2024 when the ground beneath his Humvee collapsed. The vehicle plunged into rising waters and flipped at a steep angle, trapping him inside. 'I turned down one road, and as I turned down the road, the road disappeared underneath me,' Allman said. 'The road caved in beneath me and it put the Humvee at a bad angle where the door was against the asphalt.' Allman's passenger, a Dade City police officer, escaped. But Allman was submerged. 'I ended up drowning,' Allman recalled. 'I was under between six and eight minutes.' Two bystanders and a sergeant pulled him from the water and performed CPR. He was rushed to Lakeland Regional Health, where he coded multiple times. 'At Lakeland Regional, I died two more times,' Allman said. 'Through the use of the ECMO machine and the phenomenal people at Lakeland Regional Hospital, I was able to pull through this.' Months later, Allman remains in recovery. He is currently receiving two-thirds of his salary, and his wife has left her job to become his full-time caregiver. Retired Pasco Sheriff's Office Major Brett Landsberg helped organize Saturday's fundraiser to help the family with expenses. 'He's only on two-thirds salary, and she has had to give up her job to care for him full-time,' Landsberg said. 'Yes, workman's comp covers things, but there are expenses that they have to pay for. That's why I wanted to hold this for them.' Landsberg said it was an easy decision. 'We have to take care of our own,' he said. 'We have an officer who gives the ultimate sacrifice he dies three times serving the citizens of Pasco County. We need to do something to help him and his family.' A GoFundMe campaign has also been launched to support the family, helping with medical bills, travel to appointments, and home accommodations for Allman's long-term care. To donate, click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
ABC News
27-05-2025
- Climate
- ABC News
Remarkable livestock rescue details emerge from NSW floods
Jess Yates was asleep on her property in the NSW Hunter region when she received a distressing call. The owner of Hunter River Horse Agistment at Millers Forrest, east of Maitland, was told by her neighbour that a horse was in the water. "I threw clothes on really, really quickly, jumped in our boat and just went out to the middle of the paddock and it was caught up in a lot of the [electric] tape fencing that we have," Ms Yates said. The horse owner said she jumped into action. "I just didn't think, I just knew I had to get in the water and cut it [out] and get it back up so its head's above water and then get it up to dry land," she said. The Hunter and Mid North Coast, which have been heavily impacted by flooding, are significant horse breeding, training and agistment regions. Helicopters were used at the weekend to fly fodder in and rescue large animals. But the livestock death toll is rising, with the most recent figure at 1,000. Stories of dramatic rescues have started surfacing as the flood recovery progresses. Craig Ruttley is based at Glenthorne Park Thoroughbreds, just south of Taree, where he breeds thoroughbreds. He said he had heard of horses being washed away but managed to rescue all 45 of his. "I was actually swimming out, grabbing horses and swimming with them to bring them up," he said. Mr Ruttley said he was one of the lucky ones. "There definitely have been horse casualties from the floods," he said. The NSW government has so far received more than 200 requests for emergency fodder, with 21 tonnes delivered by aerial drop as of Monday afternoon. The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development along with Local Land Services have about 80 people available to respond. Vets from Local Land Services have been helping with animal assessment, treatment and euthanasia on welfare grounds and carcass disposal. Mr Ruttley said the flood has been devastating and people would need a lot of support. "It's [been] chronically … wet over here for a long time and then to get this flood it's just imaginable," he said. Ms Yates said the flood would be a big setback for her business as well. "We were building brand new stables out here, they've floated away," she said. "I'm assuming there's going to be a hay shortage as well which is going to be a problem for us to feed our horses. "They're not going to be able to eat this grass for a little while because it's been sitting under floodwaters for so long." People can get assistance with fodder and stock water if there is an immediate animal welfare concern, as well as aerial support for isolated or stranded livestock and advice on how to care for animals in flood conditions. People affected by the floods can also apply for a disaster recovery allowance. The number for Local Land Services for people affected by the NSW floods is 1800 814 647.
ABC News
26-05-2025
- Climate
- ABC News
Rescues and recovery efforts in flood affected NSW
Flood rescuers have used a makeshift bamboo raft to save couple and six dogs in flood affected NSW.
ABC News
26-05-2025
- Climate
- ABC News
Flood rescuers use makeshift bamboo raft to save couple and six dogs
Surrounded by pitch-black, swampy floodwaters and using a makeshift bamboo raft, a rescue crew pulled off an extraordinary feat. Late on Friday evening the team of five Fire and Rescue in-water technicians responded to a call from an isolated farm near Kempsey on the New South Wales mid-north coast. The crew paddled their rescue boat 2 kilometres to reach 62-year-old Troy Irwin and his 52-year-old partner Mirasol Page, whose property had been cut off for three days. Their rubber dinghy had space for the couple, but not their six working dogs. Rescuers discovered Mr Irwin in floodwaters in his underwear. He was suffering from mild hypothermia but refused to leave his dogs. Senior firefighter Gav Smith said when they arrived at the home the floodwater was 2 to 3 metres deep and there "was not a bit of dry land anywhere". "We said, 'Look, we're going to get you guys out of here. We're going to get all your dogs out of here,'" he said. Firefighter Scott O'Shea said there wasn't enough room to get them all back to safety — so they decided to improvise. "We looked around and were like, 'What are we going to do to get out of this?'" Mr O'Shea said. Rescuers initially planned to transport the dogs on the makeshift raft but it wasn't stable enough, so they again had to think on their feet. "We put the dogs in our boat, and Troy and his wife and two other firefighters and their bags," Mr Smith said. With seven lives in their hands and daylight gradually disappearing, Mr O'Shea jumped on the raft himself. "It was long enough and stable enough that I could manoeuvre it and we were confident then we were going to make it," Mr O'Shea said. After watching the floodwaters rise for three days, Mr Irwin's main concern was keeping his partner, who is not a strong swimmer, safe. "I was really concerned, I didn't want Mirasol exposed if anything went wrong, I just wanted her up and safe out of the flood," he said. But Mr Irwin also remembers the relief he felt seeing the rescue team after days of isolation. "It was great to see them paddle around the bend and sing out to us," he said. Ms Page said she was told the experience was "an adventure" but she is glad it's over. "It was lucky we did not tip over and that we're alive," she said. As the sun set the rescue team followed marks they'd left on their route on the way in to help guide them back to safety. "We left what could be better described as Hansel and Gretel cookies," Mr O'Shea said. "We tied tape to trees because we knew it was getting late and we needed to know how to get out of there and navigate at night." The markings along with a spotlight from a Fire and Rescue drone flying above helped keep them on track back to the safety point. Strike team Charlie's leader, Inspector Gaven Mullet, described the rescue as outstanding, saying the rescuers showed the utmost resilience and resourcefulness. "We got everyone back, it was a huge mission," Mr Smith said.
RNZ News
25-05-2025
- Climate
- RNZ News
FENZ team sent to assist with New South Wales floods
A police helicopter rescue in flooded areas near the NSW town of Taree. Photo: Supplied/NSW Police A team from Fire and Emergency New Zealand is on its way across the Tasman after a formal request for help from their New South Wales counterparts . Floodwaters which left five dead and tens of thousands isolated are receding following record rainfall late last week. FENZ assistant national commander Nick Pyatt told Morning Report the team of six will work in liaison, leaving Australian firefighters to focus on the emergency response. He said the four community liaison officers and two jurisdictional liaison officers would work in the field with affected communities making sure they were connected with services and acted as the link between those in the field, the State Emergency Service and FENZ. Firefighters were still rescuing people from the floodwaters, and that would likely continue until mid-week when the recovery phase would get more underway, he said. The worst hit areas were about 19 isolated mid-North Coast and Hunter communities, Pyatt said. The two countries' firefighting services have worked "seamlessly together" in other emergencies. "They came over and supported us through Cyclone Gabrielle, and we sent up to 51 personnel in 2022 for flooding response. We help each other out in times of need." The team was planning on heading over for the week, but Pyatt said that could be extended. "It will just depend. In 2022 we ended up doing four rotations. There is a chance we could be asked to assist more in the ongoing rescue, because the Australians also have to maintain their capabilities to respond to other emergencies, so we may be called on to assist." Authorities fear at least 10,000 homes and businesses have been destroyed or seriously damaged, and around 30,000 residents remained cut off. Records showed this month had been the wettest since at least the 1800s in some of the worst hit areas. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
