PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. —
Florida Fish and Wildlife officers and other emergency crews have rescued hundreds of people from flooded neighborhoods in St. Lucie County following heavy rainfall earlier this week.
Rescue operations continued Wednesday in the Vitalia neighborhood in Tradition, one of the hardest-hit areas of the county, where dozens of residents have needed assistance getting out of their homes.
WPBF 25 News joined FWC officers aboard a swamp buggy as they traveled through the neighborhood, going through streets covered in floodwater and passing stranded vehicles.
The vehicle, which sits several feet off the ground, allowed officers to reach residents in areas inaccessible to most cars.
Among those rescued Wednesday were Sheri George and her husband, Arthur, who had been stuck inside their Vitalia home as conditions continued to get worse.
“Well, since Monday, we’ve had no electricity. The sewer system is down. No air conditioning,” George said.
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The couple had also been dealing with spoiled food and toilets they could no longer use. With floodwaters preventing them from driving out of the neighborhood, they decided it was time to leave.
FWC officers arrived at their home aboard the swamp buggy and helped them evacuate.
“This is great. This is definitely great, whoever’s idea this was,” George said. “Otherwise we would have been stuck there, who knows how much longer.”
The flooding has also affected other communities throughout St. Lucie County.
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In the Creekside community, streets and some homes remained flooded Wednesday, days after the heavy rainfall.
Resident Chris Knidle said he has been using his personal kayak to help neighbors return to their homes and retrieve belongings while they wait for the floodwaters to recede.
“Since we came back, I’ve been kind of ferrying some of the people back because basically it’s at your own risk,” Knidle said.