A man put his life on the line to rescue his vulnerable neighbors during a flood in Florida he he described as “biblical.”
With one recovering from surgery and the other stricken with ALS, their survival hinged on help, which their neighbor Rick Addante heroically provided.
It comes amid a flood of stories of compassion and heroism from Brevard County that’s rising as fast as the waters did.
Just yesterday, GNN reported on a woman who was rescued from floodwaters along with her son and 3 dogs by other brave and compassionate neighbors.
Both she and Addante live in Palm Bay, one of several east Florida towns in the path of a 1,000-year rain event that dropped between 16 and 22 inches of rain on Monday alone.
“It was really like a Biblical flood. It just came on so fast and rose so quickly that it caught everyone unprepared,” Addante said.
Addante was particularly concerned for his two vulnerable neighbors across the street. Terry was 80 and had recently undergone open heart surgery, while the other was bound to a motorized wheelchair from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
With water up to his knees within the 4 walls of his own house, Terry had spoken to Addante over the phone and said the effort of merely moving about was too much: he could hardly breathe from the strain.
“It was up to his knees inside the house but in the street where we were crossing it was probably up to my shoulders,” Addante told 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.”
Instead, Addante got him out of the house and onto the highest point of his front lawn. He and everyone in the area knew that airboats, like the kind used to navigate the Everglades, were in the neighborhood rescuing people—”they sound like a rocket ship going off.”
Video shared by Addante shows him helping carry out Terry and his dog, Bella, who was terrified of the airboat sounds, with help from Florida Fish and Wildlife officers who were operating the airboats.
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After Terry was safe, Addante and the other rescuers moved on to help the neighbor with ALS. Nearby, 3 others were trapped on the second floor of their house after the ground floor was completely submerged in water.
“It really was a big team effort of a lot of people from a lot of churches, and neighbors who came together,” Addante said.
Residential flooding is an extremely dangerous environment where rescuers can face multiple varied hazards.
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If dislodged from the pressure of flooded storm drain systems beneath, manhole covers can sweep down flooded streets and easily break a leg. Downed electrical wires can make seemingly-passable stretches of water deadly. Floodwaters can overwhelm wastewater and sewage systems, contaminating the area.
Since Monday the floodwaters have subsided, and the cleanup has already begun. The Palm Bay community will have doubtlessly lost much, but it gained a lot too—a sense of assurance that behind any front door down any street is someone who cares enough to risk their lives to save another.
WATCH the story below from Fox Weather…
SHARE This Brave, Compassionate Neighbor’s Determination To Protect His Neighbors…