A nurse has been reunited with a TV reporter she hailed as her “knight in shining armour” after he carried her to security on his again when she grew to become trapped in floodwaters as Hurricane Ian hammered Florida.
Tonya McCullough had been on her method to work at evening in Orlando through the violent storm when she unwittingly grew to become stranded on a flooded highway and water began filling up inside her automotive.
Fortunately, she was noticed by journalist Tony Atkins, who works for an NBC affiliate channel and had been overlaying the influence of the devastating hurricane, and he went to her support.
She climbed out the window of her car and onto the again of her ready rescuer, who took her to the sanctuary via the waist-high torrent.
Recalling her ordeal, Ms McCullough mentioned: “It was darkish and it was raining and gloomy and you haven’t any thought how deep that was.
“Then I realised, I can’t drive through this. And when I tried to back up, the waves and water helped usher me forward into the water and as I’m sitting in it the water is filling up inside the car.”
Mr Atkins mentioned: “I had been there all morning and I just and an idea it was safe. I didn’t see power lines, I didn’t see animals, I also didn’t see anyone else, so that’s why I jumped into it.”
He and Ms McCullough have now met once more in a tearful reunion, the place the grandmother hugged him and mentioned: “He was there for me when I needed him.
“He’s my knight in shining armour. He was there to rescue me.”
There was additionally laughter as Mr Atkins recalled how she had handed him her purse to hold through the perilous rescue.
He mentioned: “I was perplexed when you handed me the purse. I was like ‘Oh, OK, sure, I’ll take the purse’.”
There was additionally gratitude from Ms McCullough’s son, Stephon, who’s serving within the US air drive.
Speaking by way of video cellphone, he mentioned: “We need to get you a medal or something. I’m actually looking into that with my commander to say thank you.”
Ms McCullough instructed her rescuer: “Continue to be there and be helpful because you never know when someone like me will need that. And I really do appreciate that. I’m so thankful.”
Responding, Mr Atkins joked: “I’ll be here for Thanksgiving.”
Read extra:
‘Treacherous’ storm heads for Washington and New York, as toll reaches 77
No calm after the storm as Floridians scramble for fundamentals after Hurricane Ian
The heart-warming story of braveness got here because the remnants of Hurricane Ian drifted via Virginia and storm-hit residents of Florida and the Carolinas confronted a clear-up and reconstruction anticipated to price tens of billions of kilos.
The variety of lifeless was additionally anticipated to rise as floodwaters receded and search groups attain areas beforehand lower off.
At least 50 storm-related deaths have been confirmed since Ian made landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast with catastrophic drive on Wednesday, bringing torrential rain and winds of 150mph.
US President Joe Biden and first girl Jill Biden will journey to see the devastation in Florida first-hand on Wednesday, the White House has mentioned.
Meanwhile, Cuba is restoring energy after Ian knocked out electrical energy to the entire island and flattened houses and ravaged agricultural fields.
The storm has since decreased to an ever-weakening post-tropical cyclone.
Source: information.sky.com”