PALM BAY, Fla. — A Palm Bay man waded through shoulder-high floodwater to pull two vulnerable neighbors to safety after a storm that he described as resembling a Biblical flood struck Brevard County, one of several east Florida communities overwhelmed by what forecasters characterized as a 1,000-year rain event.
Rick Addante's rescue effort centered on two people living directly across the street from his home. One, identified as Terry, was 80 years old and had recently undergone open heart surgery. The other neighbor was confined to a motorized wheelchair because of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS.
The deluge dropped between 16 and 22 inches of rain on Monday alone, according to the account published by Good News Network. Water had risen to Terry's knees inside his own home when he spoke with Addante by telephone and reported that he could barely breathe from the exertion of trying to move.
Addante told Fox Weather that conditions in the street were far worse than inside the house. "It was up to his knees inside the house but in the street where we were crossing it was probably up to my shoulders," he said, according to Fox Weather. "I was worried [Terry] was going to get stuck or drown. At first I thought I'd bring him back across the river [street] but it was way too strong."
Rather than attempt a crossing, Addante moved Terry out of the house and onto the highest ground on his front lawn. Residents in the area knew that airboats of the type used to navigate the Everglades were working the neighborhood, pulling people from the water. Addante described the vessels as sounding like a rocket ship launching.
Footage that Addante shared documents the effort to carry Terry and his dog, Bella, to safety. Bella was frightened by the noise of the airboats. Officers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, who were operating the airboats, assisted in the rescue.
Once Terry was secure, Addante and the other rescuers turned their attention to the neighbor with ALS. In a nearby home, three additional people were stranded on the upper floor after water filled the ground level entirely.
Addante characterized the response as a broad, informal coalition rather than the work of any single person. "It really was a big team effort of a lot of people from a lot of churches, and neighbors who came together," he said, according to Fox Weather.
The conditions rescuers faced in Palm Bay carry well-documented dangers. Flood pressure can dislodge manhole covers from storm drain systems beneath the street, sending them hurtling through the water with enough force to fracture a leg. Electrical lines brought down by the storm can turn water that appears shallow enough to cross into a lethal hazard. Rising water can also inundate wastewater and sewage infrastructure, leaving the surrounding area contaminated.
Addante's actions add to a growing record of civilian bravery emerging from Brevard County. Good News Network reported one day earlier on a woman who was pulled from the flood along with her son and three dogs by neighbors who took similar risks. Both she and Addante reside in Palm Bay.
Addante's account of the speed of the disaster underscored how quickly residents were overtaken. "It was really like a Biblical flood. It just came on so fast and rose so quickly that it caught everyone unprepared," he said, according to Fox Weather.
