CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — Hurricane Helene has now taken over 100 lives, with the death toll still rising. Rescue teams from across the country have flocked to the hardest hit areas.
On Sunday night, the Virginia Task Force 8 team from Chesterfield County Fire and EMS made it home after working around the clock in southwest Virginia.
The 19 crew members helped evacuate 90 people in their three-and-a-half-day mission around southwest Virginia. One of the crew members described what they saw in one word, “catastrophic.”
One video from Chesterfield Fire and EMS showed the team rescuing four elderly people and three cats in raging water in the pitch black of night. The house is shown to be in front of a dam that was near overflowing.
PHOTOS: Chesterfield firefighters in action in southwest Virginia during Helene
In total, the crew performed seven water rescues and eight rescues from people’s homes.
“There’s many families, homes, businesses that have taken a great loss,” said crew member John Jacobson. “They’re definitely in need in southwest Virginia.”