‘Please help’: Tampa Bay residents take to social media to get help for loved ones

TAMPA, Fla. ( WFLA ) — Tampa Bay residents and their loved ones took to social media to ask for help after Hurricane Helene brought severe flooding Thursday.

While Helene made landfall in the Big Bend region as a Category 4 hurricane, it still brought significant storm surge and rainfall to the Tampa Bay area, cutting off communities.

Trapped by floodwaters, residents attempted to get the message out on social media that they or their loved ones were in danger.

One woman posted in the Madeira Beach, Florida, Facebook group that her relatives were trapped at their home on 4th Street East in Madeira Beach.

“My sister, her husband, and two dogs are on the roof,” she wrote.

Another wrote about her parents stuck on North Bayshore Drive. Meanwhile, a Tequesta, Florida resident asked for help to get her friend out of danger.

“My friend is disabled,” she said. “He is in the house with his girlfriend. Last I spoke with him water was up to the windows in his 1 story house. I think his phone was losing the battery charge. His name is David Heaston.”

Over in Hudson, one woman posted on a Pasco County group saying her parents, ages 84 and 87, did not evacuate and were stuck with 8 inches of water inside their house at the time.

Numerous people with loved ones in New Port Richey posted in “The Hub” Facebook asking for someone to rescue them. One woman said her son was even stuck on the roof of a residence on Dewey Drive in New Port Richey.

According to the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, around 40 people were removed from floodwaters along the US-19 corridor alone. However, rescues are happening around the clock across Tampa Bay.

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