J029-EEUU INUNDACIONES CALIFORNIA

A California man described on Wednesday (December 24) the dramatic moments when neighbors were rescued by helicopter after being stranded on a rooftop during severe flooding in San Bernardino County.

“We saw there were a bunch of emergency lights down at the end of the road and we walked as far as we could without getting swept up in the water,” said Tim Needham, founder of Timothy and the Machine Music, who filmed the rescue.

“There were people – my neighbors – on top of their roof, three people just sitting there and waiting. I video taped that, the water going up against the edge of the house and the individuals sitting on the roof.”

Reuters was able to verify the location of the footage from the road layout, buildings and utility poles, which matched file and satellite images. Reuters was able to verify the date of the footage from original file metadata.

Needham said the storm was unlike anything he had experienced. “We haven’t had any storms like this one,” he said. “This is definitely the worst of it, including being stuck at a house and having completely impassable roads.”

He added that he had moved vehicles overnight after seeing forecasts of up to eight inches (20 cm) of rain. “When I woke up this morning, my wife casually mentioned that there was a river running through our property.”

Despite the disruption, Needham said he was grateful to be safe with his family. “We weren’t expecting to spend Christmas stuck at the house with limited utilities,” he said.

“But the flip side is I can be thankful to spend time with my family. I’ve got three kids here with me, three dogs, and my wife, who is pretty excited to have me all to herself and the family for Christmas.”

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

1. HELICOPTER APPROACHING ROOFTOP OF HOUSE / RESCUE PERSONNEL LEAVING HELICOPTER AND APPROACHING STRANDED PEOPLE ON ROOF / RESCUE PERSONNEL ESCORTING PEOPLE INTO HELICOPTER

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (DECEMBER 24, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

2. (SOUNDBITE) (English) FOUNDER OF TIMOTHY AND THE MACHINE MUSIC, TIM NEEDHAM, SAYING:

"We saw there were a bunch of emergency lights down at the end of the road and we walked as far as we could without getting swept up in the water and saw that there were people that — my neighbors — that were on top of their roof, three people on top of the roof just sitting there and waiting. And so I video taped that, the water going up against the edge of the house and the individuals sitting on the roof and, you know, with the understanding that even with emergency crews there, that I wasn't going to be able to do anything and my kids weren't."

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (DECEMBER 24, 2025) (ORIGINALLY SHOT IN PORTRAIT) (TIMOTHY AND THE MACHINE MUSIC VIA FACEBOOK - No archive / No resale / Must on-screen courtesy 'Timothy and the Machine Music via Facebook')

3. HELICOPTER WITH EVACUATED PEOPLE ON BOARD FLYING AWAY FROM HOUSE

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (DECEMBER 24, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) FOUNDER OF TIMOTHY AND THE MACHINE MUSIC, TIM NEEDHAM, SAYING:

"We don't have school, we don't have school or work today. So I was up with my older... my teenager. We were watching some shows and he pulled up the weather and saw that there was supposed to be 5 to 8 inches (12 to 20 cm) of rain today. And so I thought at two in the morning this morning, I went into the lower sections of my property and moved the vehicles out of the low sections. And I'm glad that I did because when I woke up this morning, my wife casually mentioned that there was a river running through our property."

5. FLOODWATER FLOWING

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (DECEMBER 24, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

6. (SOUNDBITE) (English) FOUNDER OF TIMOTHY AND THE MACHINE MUSIC, TIM NEEDHAM, SAYING:

"So we haven't had any storms like this one where... oh, I've seen houses being damaged, we've had damage on our property. This is definitely the worst of it, including being stuck at a house and having completely impassable roads."

7. FLOODWATER FLOWING AROUND HOUSES

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (DECEMBER 24, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

8. (SOUNDBITE) (English) FOUNDER OF TIMOTHY AND THE MACHINE MUSIC, TIM NEEDHAM, SAYING:

"We weren't expecting to spend Christmas stuck at the house without... and with limited utilities. But the flip side of that is I can be thankful to spend time with my family. I've got three kids here with me, three dogs, and my wife, who is pretty excited to have me all to herself and the family for Christmas without having the opportunity to run off anywhere."

9. FLOODWATER FLOWING AROUND HOUSES / LIGHTS OF EMERGENCY VEHICLES IN DISTANCE

Reuters

Compactado

Internacional

3m 37s

Ambiente