North Texas Police Officer Faces Hurricane Irma's Wrath While Vacationing
FARMERS BRANCH (CBSDFW.COM) - Evacuations in Florida are hitting close to home for some in Texas, including for one North Texas police officer whose vacation quickly turned into a race against the clock.
A trip home to St. Petersburg had been in the works for months for one Farmers Branch officer. This family time was cut short this week as Hurricane Irma approached Florida.
Thinh Nguyen told CBS 11 he had to quickly evacuate his parents. He said he and his family were only able to take clothes, food and water as they left.
"We felt like we had to evacuate because we didn't want the first responders to feel like they had to come back and rescue us and put their lives in jeopardy. We are in a place that's a lot better so the surge won't get us," said Nguyen.
Nguyen and his family made their way to his brother's home in Riverview, just east of Tampa. "We are going to stay and weather the storm here," he said.
They've boarded up windows and stockpiled supplies.
"We have food, glowsticks for lights. We have flashlights and we powered up our cell phones. We plan to cut off all the power later so that we don't get electrocuted," said Nguyen.
Nguyen still hurts for his fellow Texans dealing with devastation left behind by Harvey. Now all he can do is wait with his loved ones and ride out the storm.
"We are just worried about dealing with the aftermath and hopefully, we can help some people and no one get hurt and not a lot of loss of life," said Nguyen.