Police bodycam shows 15 people, including children, rescued from home during Hurricane Milton
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The Tampa Police Department said in a news release that the home was occupied by 15 people, including multiple children.
Officers arrived at the house shortly before 10 p.m., according to the timestamp on the body camera footage. The department said the officers had been taking shelter less than two miles from the residence, and responded "as soon as there was a break in the storm bands."
All of the occupants were removed from the home safely, the department said. An officer also turned the main power to the home off before leaving.
"Every member of this department is committed to the safety of our community," department chief Lee Bercaw said in the news release. "The swift actions taken by these officers during a break in the storm bands provided this family with a sense of safety in a time of fear and uncertainty."
Milton made landfall as a Category 3 storm near Siesta Key, Florida on Wednesday night. It weakened while moving across the Florida peninsula and was mostly over the Atlantic Ocean early Thursday. The Tampa area avoided a direct hit, but is still threatened by storm surge.