Laird Hamilton helped rescue several people from devastating floods in Hawaii. (Reuters)
Surfing legend Laird Hamilton helped rescue several people Monday, including a group of 15 girls, from the devastating floods that ravaged a Hawaiian island.
Hamilton was credited with saving girls who were at a sleepover camp on Kauai hosted by professional surfer Lelia Hurst. She posted a photo on Instagram of Hamilton in the rescue boat with some of the girls, according to FOX5 San Diego.
“Thank you to the man @lairdhamiltonsurf you absolute animal! Saving 15 little GIRLS! Are you kidding me?” Hurst wrote in her photo caption.
Erin Gwilliam was on vacation when the floods trapped her, her husband and their three kids inside their rental home, according to CBS News.
"He just said, 'You know what? As long as I can get people out, I'm going to get people out' because nobody else could," Gwilliam told CBS. "He just said, 'Pass the kids down, and pass the luggage down, and let's go.'"
Hamilton, who lived nearby, said he was stunned by how much it rained.
"It's hard to conceive that that much water could come from the sky. And I mean it was like an ocean back there," Hamilton said.
This Sunday, April 15, 2018, photo provided by Kauai resident James Hennessy shows the view as he maneuvers a stand-up paddleboarding along his flooded street in Haena, Hawaii. (James Hennessy via AP)
At least 2 feet of rain was dumped on Hanalei on Kauai’s north shore during a 24-hour period over the weekend. The rain damaged homes, washed out foundations and left people stranded in a shelter that became surrounded by water.
Kauai residents were bracing for another round of intense rain and the possibility of more flooding.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
