Florida man selflessly gives last generator in store to crying woman as Hurricane Irma approaches

Amid the panic buying as Hurricane Irma bears down on Florida, it was an act of selflessness that stood out.

For days Floridians have been emptying stores of plywood, bottled water, gas canisters and electricity generators in anticipation of the category 5 storm, the Daily Telegraph reports.

One Florida resident, Pam Brekke, had spend days scouring empty stores in the desperate hope of finding a generator ahead of the hurricane. Her father is on oxygen and she feared what could happen in the storm knocked out their power.

On Thursday it looked as if she'd been thrown a lifeline when Lowe's store in the Conway area of Orlando received an unexpected delivery of 216 generators. So she hurriedly made the 30 mile journey from her home in Sanford.

"My father's on oxygen and I'm worried about this storm," she told WFTV through tears.

Ms Brekke and Mr Santiago hug after he gave her his generator. Photo / Facebook/Nancy Alvarez WFTV

Ms Brekke dashed into the store only to discover she'd just missed out. The customer in front of her had purchased the last generator.

Distraught, she burst into tears. But then she was approached by another customer, Ramon Santiago, who'd managed to get one of the last generators. Seeing her distress, he insisted she take his unit.

Mr Santiago, for whom English is not a first language, said: "She need the generator. It's OK. No worry for them."

Ms Brekke was overwhelmed by the gesture and a WFTV reporter was on hand to capture her emotional embrace with Mr Santiago.

She added: "I'm very overwhelmed by that man. That gentleman was a great gentleman right there. God will bless that man."

Irma is expected to hit America over the weekend and has already left a trail of fatal devastation through the Caribbean. The British territory Turks and Caicos Islands are currently in the eye of the storm and being battered by winds of up to 175mph.

Over the last few days the most powerful Atlantic storm every recorded has claimed the lives of 14 people as it has lain waste to islands such as St Martin and Barbuda. The Red Cross estimates 1.2 million people have been affected by Irma so far.

Meanwhile Florida is bracing for the storm to hit, with residents of the low-lying Florida Keys being urged to evacuate.