Delgadillo family recounts dramatic rescue after Hurricane Isaac floods Plaquemines Parish

Hurricane Isaac put the levees in the Gulf Coast to the ultimate test yesterday on the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.

Two levees outside of the federal levee system in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana were overtopped and flood waters have reached 14-feet, trapping some residents during the storm.

The Delgadillo family fled to their attic when their home flooded until they were rescued by neighbors. Rafael Delgadillo joins Zoraida Sambolin over the phone on “Early Start” this morning to talk about the ordeal.

He and his family “didn’t really have much time to panic and get scared,” Delgadillo says. Delgadillo says a neighbor called to make sure the family was okay and said to “hang tight” until he could help. The neighbors risked their lives to rescue the family from the attic in the morning.

When asked why Delgatillo didn't heed the mandatory evacuation, he says it just didn't seem like Isaac would wreak havoc.

"During Katrina, my house didn't take on any water. Pretty much everybody in that neighborhood, we realized it was a category 1 storm coming in. We didn't feel threatened," he says.

Delgadillo says his 8-year-old daughter and rest of his family are fine after the rescue. He also says he thanks Jesse Shaffer and his son for rescuing his family.