As Hurricane Helene tore into northern Florida, killing over 100 people in her destructive route through the Southeastern United States, Donna Fagersten was safely ensconced on the top floor of her friends’ house.
Just days before she died, the 66-year-old teacher decided to risk her life and go home to save her cat “when [the storm] started to calm down.”
On September 26, 2024, at approximately 11 p.m., Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida. The Category 4 hurricane triggered significant flash floods, which left many locals frantically trying to escape for their lives.
Pinellas County, in the Tampa Bay region, was one of the hardest hit places; at least 11 deaths have been documented thus far.
Donna Fagersten, 66, a second-grade teacher at Ponce De Leon Elementary School in Pinellas County, is one of those victims.
Fagersten, an Indian Rocks Beach resident of 35 years, was retiring the week of September 30, according to her closest friend Heather Anne Boles.
Fagerston, Boles, and her partner Mike Moran weathered the storm together when Helene made landfall on Thursday night.
“The water level rose quickly,” Moran said to Fox News. “It had ten minutes, at most.”
Boles said of her family taking shelter with her mother, who lives across the street from the beach where Fagerston lived, “We all went to my mom’s house and got on the third floor when the storm surge rushed in.”
She continues, saying that she asked her closest friend to stay at their refuge “when it started to calm down,” but “Donna wanted to go over and check on her cat.”
However, the storm hadn’t abated, and the intense tropical winds and subsequent surge kept battering the shoreline.
Subsequently, a neighbor entered the house where Boles and Moran were hiding out.
“They pulled [Fagersten] up to the stairs after he reported seeing someone floating in the parking garage, and Heather [Boles] and [a friend] started CPR,” Moran added.
Moran notes that fire rescue had to arrive by boat because the floodwaters were so high.
There was nothing Moran and I could do to save her after over an hour of trying. “It is absolutely heartbreaking to lose one of your closest friends.”
Eye on Tampa Bay reports that “Detectors say Donna Fagersten was found inside her home in several inches of water.” Water had obviously entered the house, and Fagersten looked to have drowned.
“A lovely soul”
Family and friends are paying tribute to the woman, who is referred to as a “beautiful person,” in the meantime.
The woman who was a special member of the community passed away, as announced by Mary Gleason Lyons in a sorrowful Facebook post.
“While many others may have lost a great deal in this catastrophe, we lost Donna Fagersten, a lovely person, friend, and instructor. Lyons writes of her close friend and coworker, “I worked with Donna for over 13 years, and she has touched the lives of so many students.” “I will miss her and am quite saddened by this. She had a huge heart and was devoted to her students.
Internet people flocked to the comments area, sharing their thoughts on how well-liked Fagersten was in the neighborhood.
“I have happy memories of her! I’m so sorry to hear about her dying,” a Facebook user comments.
“She was one kind-hearted woman and if you knew her you would never forget her,” says the second. A lovely soul to lose from so many individuals. God bless her soul.
“This is heartbreaking; it makes you realize how you can’t take any one or any day for granted,” says another.
Destroy
Boles and Moran have been cleaning for the past few days after practically everything was taken by deadly floodwaters, including clothing, furniture, and personal belongings.
The worst, according to Boles, is losing a best friend to something that “is obviously the worst we have ever, ever seen.”
Boles, a 25-year resident of Indian Rocks Beach, stated, “We lost three trees with [Hurricane] Irma, but we still had our house, we still had all our belongings, and we still had Donna.”
“And I know there are others out here that lost their lives as well,” the woman continues. Please say a prayer for everyone right now.
According to Boles, Fagersten’s cat did make it through, and her friends are trying to find him a secure home.
Over two million homes lost electricity as a result of Hurricane Helene’s destructive 800-mile course to the north, which also resulted in catastrophic flooding and the deaths of over 100 people, according to USA Today.
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