Emergency services called for water rescues in Citrus County

CITRUS COUNTY, Fla. – Emergency crews conducted several water rescues in Crystal River following the rains and flooding caused by Hurricane Helene.

Floodwaters rose extremely quickly just after midnight, rising from a few inches to about 3 feet on U.S. Highway 19 in about 15 minutes.

Dozens of rescue calls were received and emergency services were already on the move in the early hours of the morning. The Citrus County Sheriff’s Office said crews have conducted 85 rescues so far.

No injuries were reported.

According to the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office, this is the highest water level Crystal River has seen in more than 100 years.

And that includes Hurricane Idalia, which caused flooding of more than 7 feet in some areas.

Additional water rescue operations were conducted in parts of Pasco County and in Tampa.