'Everyone Was Caught Off Guard': FL Woman Organizes Boat Rescues

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Helene’s strong storm surge broke through her sister’s hurricane-impact, sliding glass doors, smashing them “into a million pieces” and allowing water to flood the home, she said.

Pam and her brother-in-law escaped through a side window and swam to a neighbor’s house.

Related: How To Help Tampa Area Residents Affected By Hurricane Helene

While that home was also inundated by flood waters, it’s two stories, so they holed up upstairs during the remainder of the storm.

As Greacen lost contact with her sister she fretted about what she should or could do, so she created a Facebook group, “Need Rescue Pinellas – Helene,” to help organize those who needed rescuing from flooded homes or who required some kind of assistance as the hurricane and its storm surge roared around them.

“We lost our mom three years ago and it’s been hard. My sister and I are really close,” she said. “I thought, ‘Oh my god, I can’t have more loss.’ My heart was beating out of my chest. I couldn’t sleep.”

As she scrolled through Facebook, she was overwhelmed by the cries for help that she saw posted in various community groups.

“‘Help me, I’m trapped. Help me, my home flooded,’” Greacen said. “I just thought, these are going to get buried by the morning. We need to consolidate a list and start tracking these people.”

Though she eventually fell asleep, she woke up around 3 a.m. to a sticky post-storm heat, as her home lost power during the night. Her cell phone also died while she was sleeping.

After charging it in her car, she was surprised to find when she turned her phone back on that 500 people had already joined her new group overnight. Within 48 hours, 2,100 people had joined, and as of Friday afternoon, a week after the hurricane, it boasts more than 2,600 members.

Greacen immediately got to work the morning of Sept. 28, hours after Helene made landfall as a Category 4 storm in the Big Bend area before tearing across the U.S. Southeast.

Working with local captains — most of them average citizens who just happen to be boating enthusiasts — they began organizing rescue missions, sending boats to the hardest-hit areas of the barrier islands to shuttle people seeking help back to the mainland.

Some boats were sent with medical personnel to help with injuries and health-related issues while others sent those with veterinary experience to assist victims who they knew had pets.

‘Before I Knew It I Was Running Rescue Operations’

On the Saturday after the storm alone, she organized 17 ongoing boat operations, she said. “And I’ve never met these people in person. I have no idea who these people are who are in my phone. We just all wanted to do something and before I knew it, I was running rescue operations. And I don’t know anything about emergency management.”

As of Wednesday afternoon, boaters offering their services through the group rescued more than 450 people and dozens of pets from Pinellas County’s ravaged beach communities, Liz Becker, who is helping Greacen organize the rescue missions, told Patch.

Greacen’s own sister is among those rescued through her efforts, she added.

The rescues have mostly taken place from Redington Shores south to St. Pete Beach with a few in Clearwater, Becker said.

They were all in Zone A, which was deemed a mandatory evacuation area ahead of Helene. Because of this, Greacen stresses that all involved in the rescue efforts are “judgment free.”

“There were a lot of elderly,” she said. “People think about the island and they think a lot of people have money. But, no, a lot of these people have lived there for 30 or 50 years and don’t have the resources to leave. And they’re sitting there when this hurricane comes through and they’ve never seen anything like it.”

“Everyone was caught off guard,” boater Travis Hayes, who works for the U.S. Postal Service, told Patch. “People are quick to ask, ‘Why didn’t they evacuate?’ Sometimes they’ve lived there 50-plus years and they’ve never seen anything like this. When you can’t fathom it, you can’t fathom it; you can’t process it.”

Every rescue mission has been different. Sometimes, the person they’re sent to search for is fine, though maybe their cell phones died or their vehicles don’t work.

Evacuating The Elderly, Delivering Supplies

“And they tell us they’re just going to ride it out; maybe they need a case of water,” Greacen said.

Others needed more medical attention, including hospitalization for broken bones or other issues. And some of the older storm survivors had dementia or memory issues and didn’t want to leave.

“Then, we’re like hostage negotiators,” she said.

One granddaughter connected with the group asking them to check on her grandmother, who didn’t want to leave her home. As rescuers spoke with the woman, her granddaughter had to call to convince her to go to the mainland.

“It was like, ‘Grandma, get on that boat,’” Greacen said.

The needs on the barrier islands have evolved in the week since Helene.

“Friday (the day after the storm) was more taking people off the island. People and pets. Maybe they were huddled in their attics through the storm and they were just ready to get off,” Hayes said. “On Saturday, we were still taking people off, but also taking people to the island to see their homes and what kind of damage there was, and also bringing supplies.”

This included boatloads of generators to those without power.

“We’re just trying to do our part to help,” Hayes said. “Whatever we can.”

The operations between the ravaged coastal communities and the mainland continue even after the barrier islands have reopened to residents, business owners and the public. Many roads remain impassable and neighborhoods are still without power, water and sewage.

Now, the focus is mainly on connecting volunteers with those who need assistance clearing properties and homes, as well as bringing needed supplies to the island.

The group is accepting donations to bring to these communities, as well as fuel for the boat captains donating their time. While the boaters are primarily leaving from docks at The Angry Pepper, Bay Pines and Jungle Prada, donations can be dropped off at Bay Pines Bait & Tackle.

“It’s been an incredible testament to this community. The work isn’t done,” Becker said. “We still need to take action. The speed and path that this group has been able to have, I’ve been in awe.”

Greacen added, “It’s funny when a disaster happens, people find a way to organize and things like this just kind of happen. (Our Facebook group) gave people the resources they needed to help each other and it took on a life of its own. Everybody’s been great.”

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