Hurricane Ian has not only left an image of chaos and devastation, but has also made it possible for us to once again see the best face of human beings. Johnny Lauder, a man from Naples County, Florida, swam half a mile (800 meters) during the storm to save his 84-year-old mother.
The 49-year-old did not hesitate to face the devastating Hurricane Ian in order to help his mother, who is in a wheelchair. The call from the parent alerted her son, who told The Washington Post that “if he hadn’t helped her, she wouldn’t be here right now.”
Lauder is a former Chicago police officer and a rescue diver, so he is a person more than prepared to be able to carry out this type of action, although he assured that he would have done everything possible to rescue her, since at the time the water level covered his chest.
A family that will not forget that day because the protagonist’s children had to take refuge in the attic of their house, since the lower floors had been flooded. It was at that moment when he received the call from his mother and in that extreme situation he performed an action more typical of action movies, jumping out the window and starting to swim to his mother’s house.
During his tour he was able to record and photograph how the streets were at that time thanks to his waterproof phone. Some of the videos and photos have become very viral on the internet, such as the one where a caterpillar was placed on his hat.
The hurricane that made landfall in Florida as a category 4 storm has been one of the most violent in years. The authorities recommended evacuating some areas, but many neighbors did not follow the instructions. These erroneous actions, accompanied by a force of nature rarely seen, have left data of 73 deaths, 1,600 rescues, overflowing rivers, risk of alligators and gas leaks.
