CANTONMENT, Fla. — A Florida couple escaped the rising waters caused when Hurricane Sally made landfall early Wednesday, climbing into their attic as water streamed into their home.
Jack Hulgan, 84, and Elane Hulgan,76, were trapped for nearly two hours in their Cantonment attic as water poured into their home around the door frame and through window sills, the Pensacola News Journal reported.
The couple was unable to reach 911 for help, so they improvised.
“I had some blue spray paint, you know, out of a can? Well, I opened my front door and put ‘In Attic HELP’ right on the door,” Elane Hulgan told the newspaper. “They must have seen my note because they came up riding these things.”
“Jet Skis,” Jack Hulgan added.
"I had some blue spray paint, you know, out of a can? Well, I opened my front door and put 'In Attic HELP' right on the door. They must have seen my note because they came up riding (jet skis)."
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The Hulgans were rescued from their northern Escambia County home and taken to an emergency shelter by the National Guard, the News Journal reported.
“I ruined our door,” Elane Hulgan said. “But so is our whole house now.”
It is not the first time the Hulgans had to take shelter in their attic. Their home was among 300 flooded in 2014.
“Yeah, this was our second go-round in the attic,” Elane Hulgan told the News Journal. "It felt like a nightmare. Now, we have to find a place to live until our house is repaired.
“You know, you can’t live in a place that’s going to grow mildew or mold because that will kill you. It is just a real, real stressful thing.”
Jack Hulgan said he was grateful to be rescued, along with their two dogs.
“When they came on Jet Skis, they made us lie down on our stomachs on boards that they were pulling on the back of them,” he told the newspaper. “I put one dog under my arm, and she did, too. And we hung with our free hands to board while we were on our stomachs, like this.”
Cox Media Group
