After rescues, Volusia focuses on cleaning up

Hannah Brown feared her friend was about to drown in a Daytona Beach apartment as Hurricane Irma unleashed torrents of rain and wind.

The problem was Brown was 3,000 miles away in California. So she took to Twitter early Monday morning.

“PLEASE HELP MY DISABLED FRIEND, she’s right next to the Halifax River,” Brown tweeted at Daytona Beach Fire, the U.S. Coast Guard and Volusia County Emergency Management about 3 a.m.

Two hours later, Brown got the words she been waiting for: “They got me,” friend Kristina Barneski texted her.

Barneski was one of more than 30 people rescued along Beach Street in Daytona Beach during the storm.

Barneski said the floodwater was up to her knees, and she couldn’t get out of her apartment.

“My biggest fear was the glass window was going to shatter and the water was going to come in,” she said.

Barneski said she was grateful for the first responders, who rescued her in high-water vehicles. Brown said she was doing what anyone would do.

“I can’t imagine a friend I wouldn’t do it for,” Brown said.

Barneski was one of more than 30 people saved Monday from rising waters along Beach Street.

After the rescues, officials now are cleaning up the area.

Volusia County Manager Jim Dinneen said Beach Street in Daytona Beach and the areas west of Interstate 95 sustained the most damage.

There also is debris in the ocean and on the beach, Dinneen said.

“In the end, if we all work together, we can all guarantee a safe return to normalcy,” he said.

Restoring power is the biggest hurdle, Dinneen said.

More than 220,000 customers in Volusia County are without electricity as of Monday afternoon, according to Florida Emergency Management.

Larry Volenec of Florida Power and Light, said the restoration is a big undertaking.

“It will likely be one of the most complex restorations our country has ever seen,” he said. “When we restore power, we are talking days; when we are rebuilding the system, we are talking weeks.”

Volusia County is also instituting a curfew between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. until power can be restored, in part, to prevent looting.

“That’s not going to happen in Volusia County,” said Sheriff Mike Chitwood, referring to break-ins that occurred after hurricanes in cities such as Miami and Fort Lauderdale. “We are going to keep community safe.”

“My biggest fear was the glass window was going to shatter and the water was going to come in.” Kristina Barneski, rescued Daytona Beach resident