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Hurricane Helene: FOX Weather meteorologist rescues woman from car as floodwaters rise during live footage


Hurricane Helene: FOX Weather meteorologist rescues woman from car as floodwaters rise during live footage

FOX Weather meteorologist Bob Van Dillen is being hailed as a hero after rescuing a woman from her car during a live taping outside Atlanta on Friday as flooding from Hurricane Helene rapidly increased.

Van Dillen came to “Fox & Friends” to explain why he couldn't sit around and wait for first responders to help when he saw a woman in danger as the deadly storm wreaked havoc.

“I know we're inundated with all the 911 calls here because there are so many flood rescues that we've already documented so far… (she) called 911 and, five minutes, 10 minutes, and you could hear screams , or? You could hear it through my live recording, really loud,” Van Dillen told Steve Doocy.

TRACKING HELENE: LIVE MAPS, POWER OUTAGES, WIND PROJECTIONS AND MORE

“That’s her car there,” Van Dillen added, with a car almost completely lost in the background. “So I just said, ‘You know what? I realize I'm on air with you, but I can't let it go.'”

ST PETE BEACH, FLORIDA – SEPTEMBER 26: Waves from the Gulf of Mexico crash ashore as Hurricane Helene rages offshore on September 26, 2024 in St. Pete Beach, Florida. Today, Helene is expected to strengthen into a severe hurricane, potentially bringing deadly storm surge, flooding rains and damaging hurricane-force winds to parts of Florida's west coast. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

ST PETE BEACH, FLORIDA – SEPTEMBER 26: Waves from the Gulf of Mexico crash ashore as Hurricane Helene rages offshore on September 26, 2024 in St. Pete Beach, Florida. Today, Helene is expected to strengthen into a severe hurricane, potentially bringing deadly storm surge, flooding rains and damaging hurricane-force winds to parts of Florida's west coast. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

The FOX Weather meteorologist “dropped everything” to help the woman get out of the situation safely.

“I pulled my wallet out of my pants and went in, waded in, up to my chest,” Van Dillen said when Janice Dean told him not to be humbled by the heroic feat.

“You know how it is. I was worried maybe there was a nice fast current, but the current really wasn't that bad. But I was also afraid of the water temperature. The water temperature is probably around 80°C.” (degrees). So all of those things worked pretty well, so the water was about up to my chest,” Van Dillen added.

“She was in there, she was still strapped into her car and the water actually rose and got into the car itself, so she was submerged almost up to her neck in her own car.”

Dean then asked what would have happened if Van Dillen hadn't stepped in.

“She would have drowned,” Dean said.

“You know, I don’t know,” Van Dillen said modestly. “I told her, 'Okay, take off your seatbelt,' she unbuckled her seatbelt. I said, 'Give me your phone, give me your bags,' then I put her on my back and we went in…she's fine. “She was in shock,” Van Dillen said.

“She was cold and shaking so I gave her one of my t-shirts and she was in our car just warming up. About 20 minutes later the fire department came, saw we were OK, and made our way to the nearest emergency service, wherever they were.” “We're leaving,” he continued. “Her husband just picked her up about five minutes ago.”

VIDEOS: HURRICANE HELENE LEADS RECORD STORM LINE ALONG FLORIDA'S GULF COAST

“It was a good deed for the day,” Doocy said.

Reporter saves woman

Hurricane Helene: FOX weather reporter Bob Van Dillen rescues woman from car as flooding mounts in Atlanta. (Fox News)

Helene made landfall about 10 miles west-southwest of Perry, Florida, at 11:10 p.m. ET on Thursday, and impacts were felt throughout the Southeast and parts of the Mid-Atlantic as the monster storm moved further inland and began to weaken.

While wind remains a concern, the biggest threat from Helene remains flash flooding, as the region experiences torrential rain, causing rivers and streams to overflow their banks, flooding onto streets and communities, and affecting residents include.

The threat of flash flooding stretches from the Southeast to the Mid-Atlantic, where multiple flash flood emergencies were declared early Friday morning, including the first-ever flash flood emergency for Atlanta.

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FOX Weather contributed to this report.

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