31 August 2023 , 12:45
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A woman was captured in a video swimming through a flooded street in Florida during a hurricane.
Lexi DeLeon, 23, was seen in footage paddling in the water caused by Hurricane Idalia which ravaged most parts of Florida on Wednesday. The video has gone viral on TikTok, amassing over 1.2 million views. Lexi, a Florida native, swam through the flooded streets as the storm hit at around 4.45am.
The video shows her navigating through debris and floating items. The clip received over 52,000 likes and numerous comments from concerned followers. Lexi expressed that this hurricane caused more damage and flooding than previous ones she had experienced.
Hurricane Idalia made landfall as a Category 3 storm, causing extensive flooding, power outages for over 270,000 people, and major disruptions, while one person was killed in Georgia.
While no hurricane-related deaths were officially confirmed in Florida, the Florida Highway Patrol reported two people dying in separate weather-related crashes just hours before Idalia made landfall.
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Lexi swimming through a flooded street (Jam Press Vid/@keepinupwithkove)
Hurricane Idalia has been hitting Florida since early yesterday morning (Jam Press Vid/@keepinupwithkove)Lexi's home and belongings remained relatively unscathed, but she empathised with those who suffered more severe impacts from the storm.
"Being born and raised here, I have been through several hurricanes and storms but this is the first one that has caused this much damage and flooding. This was truly 'the perfect storm'," she said.
"The storm makes me feel scared and sad for everyone affected,” said the 23-year-old content creator. "My house personally is OK thankfully, but I have friends and family who have significant flooding throughout their homes.
"My van is OK as well, I was prepared and got it secured down and parked at a higher elevation at my grandpa’s house off the island. I want to say how blessed, lucky, and grateful we are that we only got the damage that we did. I am praying and thinking of all the counties above that are not so lucky."
Lexi's home and belongings remained relatively unscathed in the catastrophe (Jam Press/@keepinupwithkove)
Lexis, 23, empathized with those who suffered more severe impacts from the storm (Jam Press/@keepinupwithkove)Commenting on her post on TikTok, people expressed a mix of concern, empathy, and advice for Lexi DeLeon as she swam through the floodwaters during Hurricane Idalia.
"I’m praying for you thru this tragedy!," someone said, while another cautioned: "Stay out of the water and wash your hands a lot! Hugs from Pensacola."
Another user wrote, "Last year during Ian we had dead animals floating through the flood water…." and someone else warned Lexis: "Forget the animals and crocodiles and alligators watch for power lines down cause you’re gonna get electrocuted."
Hurricane Idalia tore into Florida at the speed of a fast-moving train Wednesday, splitting trees in half, ripping roofs off hotels and turning small cars into boats before sweeping into Georgia and South Carolina as a still-powerful storm that flooded roadways and sent residents running for higher ground.
“All hell broke loose,” said Belond Thomas of Perry, a mill town located just inland from the Big Bend region where Idalia came ashore.
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Thomas fled with her family and some friends to a motel, thinking it would be safer than riding out the storm at home. But as Idalia's eye passed over about 8:30 a.m., a loud whistling noise pierced the air and the high winds ripped the building's roof off, sending debris down on her pregnant daughter, who was lying in bed. Fortunately, she was not injured.
“It was frightening,” Thomas said. "Things were just going so fast. ... Everything was spinning.”