A freshman at Port St. Lucie High School was forced to swim through chest‑deep floodwater to reach his home on Monday after his school bus dropped him off at a flooded ditch, according to WPBF. The incident was captured on video that quickly went viral, raising questions about the school district’s emergency response.

Student Noah John described the scene as he stepped off the bus: “The water was all the way up to the stairs, every step had water on it. What did the bus driver say? She said, ‘Do you want to get dropped off here?’ I said, ‘Sure.’” He added that the water rose to his chest as he entered the ditch, prompting him to swim to safety.

Witness Martina Elieson, who filmed the event, said, “I saw the children get off and my heart sank. I’m disabled, but if he had gone down, I would’ve thrown my phone and gone.” Noah’s father, Romeo John, who works at 3D Painting & More, was present at the time and expressed shock at the video. “I was really shocked; that’s my boy for real,” he said, noting that his son has been unusually drowsy since the incident.

The flooding began unexpectedly while students were still at school. Romeo John explained that neither he nor the district anticipated the storm’s severity, noting that his son left for school at 6:00 a.m. before the weather turned. The district later dispatched buses to bring students home as the skies opened.

During a news conference on Tuesday, Superintendent Dr. Jon Prince apologized to parents, stating that the decision to keep schools open on Monday was based on information from the Emergency Operations Center and the National Weather Service. He described the event as “an unpredicted and unprecedented once‑in‑a‑century event for our community.” The superintendent’s office declined a follow‑up interview request.

The incident has sparked criticism of the district’s communication and emergency‑management procedures. Parents and community members are calling for clearer protocols to protect students during sudden weather events.

Sources: wpbf.com