ZEPHYRHILLS, Fla. — Pasco County Fire Rescue conducted more than 150 rescues throughout the county due to flooding on Friday.
Officials said heavy rain from Hurricane Milton and the Hillsborough River cresting are flooding neighborhoods.
ABC Action News visited the Silver Oaks subdivision in Zephyrhills, where neighbors have their valuables and belongings packed in case they need to evacuate.
"We have never seen it like this before like I said 1999 we had half of what you see there, but it got close to people's homes but nothing like this," said Dan Burgess, Sr.
Dan Burgess, Sr. has lived in the neighborhood for at least 30 years. He said the golf course and several streets are flooded in the neighborhood.
"We'll wait and see, but we're prepping. We're getting ready. My wife put some stuff up higher and we're going to wait and see because I believe it's going to take another day to get up toward Nick's," said Burgess.
Nick Burgess grew up in the neighborhood with his parents and bought a home in 2020.
"It's unbelievable when you see people being boated out of their homes. It's just unbelievable," he said.
"Slowly and slowly yesterday that water just comes up. It was coming up a lot at a faster pace yesterday to the point where folks had no time to prep," he added.
Pasco County Fire Rescue said they are responding to calls as they receive them. Crews also conducted rescues in Elfers in New Port Richey.
Back-to-back storm events brought record storm surge, rainfall and winds to the Tampa Bay region. The question some are asking now isn’t where people should rebuild, but where we should let nature regain control.
