BILOXI, Miss. -- As heavy winds and rains from Hurricane Isaac broke, first responders handled dozens of rescues in which people's lives hung in peril until they were pulled to safety.
They included a couple and their son trapped on a yacht, another man clinging to the mast of a sailboat, three members of a radio crew stranded in a flooded station, a couple, their 6-month-old baby and their dog rescued from a houseboat and a man trapped in a boat in a marsh, among others. Here's a look of some of the details:
Gov. Phil Bryant said Wednesday the National Guard had rescued 34 people by boat and 15 using a truck. A water rescue team created by the Department of Homeland Security, which involves firefighters and Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks personnel, also pulled nine people from the waters. Other South Mississippi first responders made additional rescues.
All of the National Guard's rescues were in Pearlington and other parts of Hancock County west of Mississippi 603, officials said.
"That indicates to me too many people in low-lying areas didn't respond to our initial request to leave," Bryant said. "It also indicates that even in these tropical storm conditions, the men and women of these agencies are going about putting their lives on the line to rescue their fellow citizens of the Mississippi Gulf Coast."
In a case on the Pearl River in Pearlington, about 100 feet from the Louisiana state line, first responders early Wednesday morning rescued a couple, their baby and their dog on a houseboat after rising waters trapped them inside. Four first responders, either members of Mississippi Task Force 1 or officers with the U.S. Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, headed out to the scene in a flat boat, fetching the family and their dog and bringing them to safety onshore. Both Louisiana and Mississippi authorities handled the operation.
Later Wednesday, authorities rescued three members of WQRZ radio after about 8 inches of flood waters came into the building in Waveland's Shoreline Park.
Brice Phillips, head of the radio station, called the Hancock County Emergency Management Agency to rescue his staff after the water started the flooding the building. Phillips stayed behind, saying the radio station's work was "critical" and he wasn't "going to lose what protects this community."
Among those rescued were amateur radio operator Anthony Allen and two other staff members.
Allen wanted Phillips to evacuate, too, though he had no regrets about his decision to leave.
"I'm glad the EOC came out here to get us, and I'm thankful for each one of them," he said.
In Biloxi, police early Wednesday rescued a man stranded on the mast of a 16-foot sailboat dangling over the Popp's Ferry Bridge, resulting in its temporary closure. Police Chief John Miller said the boat tipped over and the man climbed the mast to avoid ending up in choppy Back Bay waters.
Miller said it was likely the man was trying to move the boat when he got trapped.
"He'd climbed onto the mast with his cellphone and was holding on and calling us," Miller said. "We pulled him from the mast of the boat onto the bridge."
In another incident, Miller said a man and his wife, ages 84 and 86 respectively, and their son, 46, were trapped on a 44-foot yacht on Biloxi's Back Bay about 50 feet from the shoreline near Kennedy Lane.
"We don't know if they were headed somewhere to anchor down or what. Who knows?" Miller said. "We had to tie a rope around officers to get them off the boat."
The three survived without any injuries.
Biloxi police also responded to other incidents, including reports of residents firing shots at a "Do Not Enter" sign at the Pass Road branch of the U.S. Post Office. "They were taking target practice on a sign."
In addition, Biloxi police responded to calls from 16 to 20 people wanting rides to an area shelter as Hurricane Isaac continued to lash the area with high winds and rain.
In Pascagoula, police started early in their rescue efforts, responding late Tuesday afternoon to a report of a stranded boater stuck in Krebs Lake marsh because of strong currents and heavy winds.
The man, Jerry Murphy, who is the owner of Clark's Seafood, was on a skiff headed to his company's Lowery Island facility when his boat lost power. Pascagoula Police Chief Kenny Johnson said police responded in their own boat and brought Murphy back to shore safely.
"Those guys were in some pretty significant rain and wind when they went out there," Johnson said. "The water was covering the boat launch, which it made it difficult for us to get our boat off in the water. But we got our boat in the water and went in, found him and brought him to safety."
Michael Newsom, Robin Fitzgerald and Leighanne Lockhart, Sun Herald staff writers, contributed to this report.
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