Unprecedented flash flooding swept through Eastern Florida on Monday after heavy downpours, prompting one Palm Bay neighbor to take action as residents became trapped inside their homes.
Rick Addante said several of his neighbors in Turtle Creek, a Palm Bay community, were elderly, ill or had limited mobility and could not evacuate as floodwaters continued to rise.
“Nobody expected this to happen,” Addante said. “All of a sudden, everything just started rising so quickly, and the streets started filling up.”
Each time residents thought the water had reached its peak, Addante said, it rose even higher.
“It became really clear how serious it was going to become,” he said.
Addante said two neighbors were of particular concern. One was Terry, an 80-year-old man who lived alone with his dog and was recovering from open-heart surgery. The other had progressive Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and could not evacuate with his family because he relied on a motorized wheelchair.
“Both of them were in kind of dire straits,” Addante said. He repeatedly moved through the floodwaters between homes to check on the neighbors.
Addante and other residents worked together to make sure both men were safe while they waited for evacuation assistance.
Water began pouring over the seawall behind the homes and into swimming pools and backyards, making the situation increasingly urgent.
Addante prepared Terry and his dog to leave as water inside the house climbed to their knees.
After repeatedly moving between Terry’s home, the other neighbors’ houses and his own, Addante heard the powerful roar of airboats approaching the neighborhood.
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Addante, Terry, Terry’s dog Bella and their belongings waited for airboats from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to arrive before beginning the evacuation.
Video shared by Addante shows him and Florida FWC officers carrying Terry and Bella out of the home. The dog appeared frightened by the sound of the airboat.
As Terry was evacuated, trash cans floated through the streets and floodwaters reached nearly to the tops of mailboxes.
Rescuers brought Terry to an airboat, helped him aboard and secured him before taking him to safety. He was able to warm up, dry off and reunite with his family.
While some rescuers remained with Terry, Addante and others moved to the next home, where they evacuated the neighbor with ALS, along with his wife and daughter.
Additional videos show Addante assisting with evacuations and coordinating rescue efforts with FWC personnel.
FWC teams continued rescuing people trapped inside their homes. Addante later learned that three more people were stranded on the second floor of another house because of the flooding.
After confirming there were in fact people inside, the FWC teams rushed over.
He said while he was assisting with the rescues, other neighbors jumped in to help his family, getting generators up and running and checking on his wife and kids.
“It really was a big team effort of a lot of people from a lot of churches, and neighbors who came together,” Addante said.
Addante said he was grateful to his neighbors for helping out and jumping in, and they deserve just as much credit for the effort.
Just a day later, floodwaters are down, but the work to clean up the mess begins.
He said people have already begun ripping out damaged flooring and carpets from their flooded homes.