‘This is a first’: Streets, homes flooded in Rubonia neighborhood of Palmetto

PALMETTO, Fla. (WFLA) — Floyd Rome raced to his aunt’s house Thursday night to help her out of her flooded home in the Rubonia neighborhood of Palmetto after the storm surge from Hurricane Helene.

“To give a marker, I actually put a twig up against the house to see how long,” he said. “It took five minutes, and it rose about three inches in that short span of time so I knew we only had a short about of time to get the people out of their houses.”

He said he helped her and others out of their homes as quickly as possible.

He saw fish and an alligator in the water, he said.

“In our entire life, we’ve never seen anything like this before,” he said. “This is a first for Rubonia.”

The water was rising steadily leading up to midnight in the area of 72nd Street Court East and 15th Avenue East.

The neighborhood is north of a tributary that leads into Terra Ceia Bay.

Farrah Mack called on the county to do something about the drainage issues.

“It’s sad,” Mack said. “I’m 47. My grandparents have been out here all their life, same house. It has never, ever, ever, ever been like this.”

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