Dramatic video shows members of a swift water rescue team from Arlington County, Virginia, getting a dozen people to safety as raging floodwaters rapidly overtake a bridge in Southwest Virginia.
The rescue took place in Damascus, Virginia, which was hit hard by flooding from the remnants of Hurricane Helene. It followed announcements of at least two deaths in Virginia caused by Friday’s storms and five voluntary evacuation orders prompted by dangerous flooding in Southwest Virginia.
The Prince William County Swift Water Rescue Team has also performed several water rescues over the past few days, including 19 people rescued on Saturday, alongside rescue teams from Stafford County, according to a news release from the county’s Department of Fire and Rescue.
Arlington County Fire and EMS posted the video on its social media platforms Saturday afternoon. All told, the county’s swift water rescue team has made over 30 rescues since being deployed to Southwest Virginia, the department said.
ACFD’s Type 3 Swiftwater Rescue Team has been involved in multiple rescues while deployed to SW VA, including rescuing 10 civilians and 2 police officers as raging waters surrounded their town. To date, these personnel have made over 30 rescues. Thread to follow pic.twitter.com/11YgKk6R6a
— Arlington Fire & EMS (@ArlingtonVaFD) September 28, 2024
The rescue that was partly caught on video happened as the team responded to reports of a person trapped inside their house and multiple other people who were in danger of seeing their houses swept away.
“The only way in or out of the at location was on a bridge with fast moving, debris laden water up to the bottom surface of the bridge but not over it,” the fire department said in an account of the rescue posted on social media.
The team used a swift water boat and broke a window to reach the trapped occupant.
Meanwhile, two local sheriff’s deputies were going door to door to urge residents to evacuate due to the rising water and the danger that their homes could be swept away.
The bridge was the only way out of the neighborhood and, at one point, a large shipping container slammed into the bridge and became wedged underneath, the department said.
By the time the crews were ready to cross the bridge with all the evacuated residents and the two deputies, the water was still rising and was, at that point, about 1 to 2 feet over the bridge.
“They watched as a home floated down stream and smashed into the bridge, leaving debris everywhere,” the department said.
According to the fire department’s account, just as the crews were attempting to cross the bridge, a large log became wedged into the bridge “in a position that could pierce the windshield of the vehicle and no doubt injure or kill its occupants.”
Crews were planning to cut up the log with chain saws when it suddenly shifted, and they made the snap decision to cross to rapidly cross the bridge.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin visited Damascus on Saturday to assess storm damage and said his administration is taking the initial steps to request federal disaster relief.
“We are heartbroken for all Virginians and Americans who have suffered in the wake of Hurricane Helene,” Youngkin said in a statement. “We’re incredibly proud of our brave first responders from around the Commonwealth who have saved countless lives, and we are deeply grateful to those working tirelessly to restore electricity, communication, and food supplies.”
Nationwide, the storm has been blamed for at least 56 deaths across five states, including 23 people in South Carolina and 11 in Florida. Devastating flooding was reported in North Carolina and Tennessee.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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