RIVER RIDGE, Fla. — Nearly a week after Hurricane Milton made landfall, river flooding remains a major issue in low-lying neighborhoods across the Tampa Bay area.
Along the Withlacoochee River in Hernando County, the water continues to rise to near-record flood levels not seen in several decades, with a crest not expected until later in the week.
“I just don’t want my stuff to intrude on other people,” Marshall Briscoe said, who with family was wading through chest-high water around his Riverdale home.
Together they were gathering their belongings to prevent them from going downstream. The Briscoes evacuated their home for a few days, watching the water continuing to rise to levels they’d never seen before.
“It's been rough watching the water come up and not being able to do anything for it. It's never been in the trailer before. This the first time, and it's been there since, oh, probably 30 years, 35 years. Irma was the last time it came close,” Briscoe added.
“I don't think anybody in recent in the last several decades, anyway, in the last 50 or 60 years, 70 years, has seen anything like this,” Hernando County Sheriff Al Nienhuis said, who urged people in low-lying areas to evacuate their homes several days ago.
“In some areas, we're finding the road floods before the area around their houses, so they really don't realize that they're trapped until it's too late. And that's what's a big concern, is, because then those people get very panicky,” Nienhuis added.
Rescue crews from his office, the local fire department and Florida Highway Patrol have been on scene rescuing families from homes and bringing them to nearby shelters. Some have refused to leave and they have been checking in on them while providing non-perishable food and water.
“There are still some people that are sticking it out, and we're trying to bring them food and water, non-perishable food, MREs and so forth, and water to make sure they're safe, and checking on them periodically to make sure they haven't changed their mind,” Nienhuis said. “But it's really a lesson that if we say it's a good idea to evacuate. It's probably something that people need to keep a very close eye on.”
FHP crews have been utilizing a "Fat Truck,” an amphibious vehicle that allows them to go from the road to piloting on several feet deep of water to assist in the effort.
The river is expected to crest later this week, but it will be several days to weeks after that the water will flow out of the nearby neighborhoods.