Man Dives Into Flash Flood, Fills His Boat Up With Animals

These animals would have been in serious trouble without some help.

Back in 2016, when over 23 inches of rain caused historic flash flooding for several southern states, including Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas and Mississippi, countless people and animals were displaced by the bad weather.

In the midst of chaos, two men in Hernando, Mississippi, saw that there were animals in need and decided to take action.

"My brother and I kept noticing several animals making their way out of the flooded woods into a pasture in front of our house," Frankie Williams, a 26-year-old plumber who also works for a landscaping company, told The Dodo at the time.

"We had a small boat available to go check out the flooded woods. On the way to the woods driving across the flooded fields we saved several field mice, ground shrews and rabbits," he said.

Williams said that while raccoons were able to find safety by climbing higher into trees, opossums and armadillos were stranded on bits of land with no other choice but to cling onto whatever they could find to prevent themselves from getting swept away by the rising waters.

So Williams and his brother traveled around, placing every struggling animal they came across into the boat. Once the water levels began to lower, the animals were released.

"I grew up with a great passion for the outdoors," Williams explained. "[I] hate to see any animal suffer."

Watch a clip of the tough rescue mission below.

For more on how to keep your family and pets safe during a flood, check out these incredibly useful tips.