Saving Lives in the Wake of Hurricane Helene

(Some of the names have been changed to protect people’s privacy. The aliases are in italics)

Forty-three-year-old Matthew Flora doesn’t look like a superhero or an answer to prayer. Rather, the self-described hippy iconoclast who has started calling himself Mattman (think Batman) looks like your typical fun-loving beach bum. The night of Hurricane Helene, however, the former Hernando County resident stepped up to the plate and took on the wrath of Hurricane Helene’s aftermath.

Matthew moved to Hernando County when he was twelve, attended West Hernando Middle School and Central High School and then moved to Clearwater in 2012. He worked a variety of jobs, from construction to jet ski tour guide on Clearwater Beach. It was the latter experience that would prepare him for his adventures of September 26 and 27.

Matt was relatively safe in the condo he shared with friends on Island Estates, but when he heard that his dog, Azula, and his friend, Jasper, who was keeping the dog temporarily, were in trouble, he jumped into action. This was at about 11:00 p.m. Thursday.
Matt knew that the only way he’d be able to rescue them was by boat or jet ski. His friend, David, had a jet ski, so Matthew and two other friends, Mark and Steve started walking toward David’s house about a mile away.

Pretty soon, they were in water past their waists. The current was swift, as well. Matt describes it as “Class 5 currents, raging at about 20 miles per hour.”

“I got swept into the Intercoastal waterway. That was really the only time that night that I was scared, but I told myself, ‘No, it’s not your time.’ I felt that I would be protected because I was doing God’s work and He answered my prayers.”

Matthew isn’t a regular church-goer, but he’s a spiritual person and believes in the power of prayer. “I prayed to God not to let this be my time.”

Mark rescued Matthew from the water and the three continued on their way. When they got to David’s house, Matthew begged to borrow the jet ski. Since it belonged to David’s girlfriend, whom he couldn’t reach, he refused to lend it without her permission.

“I said to him, ‘If you can’t ask permission, then ask forgiveness later,’ but he wouldn’t budge.”

That’s when Matthew took matters into his own hands. He made it to the Clearwater Beach Marina, where his former boss’ jet ski rental business was located. He decided to, as he says, “borrow” a jet ski. All of them were locked and secured as required by law during a hurricane—all except for one sitting by itself in the back.

“To me, it was a neon sign from ‘the man upstairs’ that this was what I was supposed to be doing. Whether what I did was right or wrong, I did it, and I will not say I’m sorry. If I had to do it again, I would.”

Matthew was able to “jury-rig” the vehicle to get it started and he hopped on. He went through all types of debris in the water–chairs, doors, windows- and he went full throttle as fast as he could. He passed the high-water police rescue vehicle. They waved him down and said they wanted him to help them, but his main concern was rescuing Jasper and Azula.

He made it to Jasper’s house and rescued his friend and his dog. Once Matthew got them on the back of the jet ski, he drove past the police officers again. He told them he’d come back to help them after he got his dog and his friend to safety. Matthew took them to the fifth floor of the parking garage at his condo, where he had left his truck.

“Within about three to four minutes, I boogied back there [to the police vehicle] at about 50 mph.”

The officer in charge asked him to rescue a ninety-year-old woman who had dementia, didn’t speak English, and was stranded in her house.

“I was upfront with them and told the police officers that the jet ski was stolen, so I told them that they assumed responsibility for their knowledge. With them as my witnesses, I was in no fear of being prosecuted [for theft].”

The reason that the Clearwater Beach police had no jet skis themselves was that they had taken them all off the island for safety because they didn’t think they’d need them.

“One of the officers, a guy named Trevor, got on the back of the jet ski. When we got to the house, we pulled into the driveway. I’m looking for the door and the windows. I’m 6’2” and the water was up to my chest. The officer stayed on the ski because the water probably would have been above his head and he also kept the jet ski from floating away.”

The door was locked from the inside, so Matthew went through the window. There was a woman and a man in the living room.
“This guy’s standing there with this look on his face. He couldn’t speak. His jaw dropped.”

He asked the woman, Maria, who turned out to be the other woman’s caretaker, where her patient was.

“Maria is in tears. She asked me if I was Clearwater Fire Rescue and I said ‘No’ and then I gave her a big hug. When I walked into the back room the elderly woman, Lulu’s, bed was floating in about four to five feet of water. Once I got their minds at ease, I told Maria to put my life jacket on Lulu and that I needed her to put her arms around me.”

Then Matthew carried her out of the house, lifted her up onto the jet ski, and put her between the two men.
“I never got my life jacket back,” Matthew remarked off-handedly.

They brought Lulu to the fire rescue triage location.

“I handed her over to the police officer in charge and he said to me, ‘Trevor isn’t going with you. He thinks you’re too crazy.’ So another cop, Jim, jumps on. I told him that I needed a hero, not a zero and that he was a true American hero.”

The next rescue was on the same block as Jasper’s house.

Matthew, always the wise guy, told Jim, “I can get there with my eyes closed. I turn around and close my right eye, which is my only good eye. He yells at me and says, ‘Watch the road!’ ”

When they got to the house, three people needed to be rescued. He got all three on the jet ski somehow, but they were about 100 pounds over the weight limit, so Matthew had to adjust his position so they wouldn’t bottom out.

By now, the water was starting to recede really fast and pretty soon, they would not be able to ride a jet ski down the street. This was about 1:30 a.m.

All told, the whole thing lasted about an hour to an hour and a half. But, since that time, Matthew has been helping people recover from the storm− physically and mentally−whether it’s finding them a ride off the beach, fixing them a cup of coffee on his single burner propane stove, or telling them to “Keep smiling.”

The world needs more people like Matthew Flora.