The footage was recorded on Sept. 14.
The Cajun Navy ended up rescuing 160 people, many of whom were stranded on the roofs of their cars after trying and failing to flee the hurricane at the last minute.
“So a lot of people we were rescuing from the tops of their vehicles.”
The Cajun Navy is a volunteer relief group that was formed in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
They’ve helped rescue people from a number of hurricanes since then, including Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Marine.
Florence Deluges Town
Florence remained a category 1 hurricane for more than 12 hours after making landfall on Sept. 14. It was later downgraded to a tropical storm.The effects of the storm are being felt widely, principally through huge amounts of rain and storm surges.
“Most of the time the people just didn’t get out, and the water came up really, really fast,” he said.
High winds made rescues difficult, forcing the Cajun Navy at one point to abandon some of their bigger boats.
“People who live in New Bern have experienced hurricanes before, but it has been a long time since we have experienced something like this,” Outlaw said.
Wide Recognition
By now the Cajun Navy is well-known, after helping out across the country.President Donald Trump even hailed them earlier this year at his State of the Union address, noting how many storms and other natural disasters the United States had dealt with over the past year.
“But through it all we have seen the beauty of America’s soul and the steel in America’s spine. Each test has forged new American heroes to remind us who we are and show us what we can be,” Trump said. “We saw the volunteers of the Cajun Navy racing to the rescue with their fishing boats to save people in the aftermath of a totally devastating hurricane.”
Terrell and Cain make sure to get in touch with local responders before arriving for coordination, and also try to bring enough food to help feed law enforcement.
“That is what the Cajun Navy is. It is a people-helping-people movement,” Terrell said. “I always tell people that I think a disaster is God’s way of bringing the country back together and bringing people back together. … People just pick up their bootstraps and help their neighbors.”
