WAUCHULA — Off Main Street in Wauchula, there are about a hundred homes in the Riverside View neighborhood. Right now, the only way in and out is flooded.
Len Miller didn’t hesitate when it came to helping his neighbors.
“It’s the worst I’ve ever seen it. I’ve been here 62 years, and the river has never been this high. Ever," Len said.
With the Peace River spilling over into Riverside View, Len has one of the few trucks around that can make it through the water to bring people to where it’s safe and dry.
“I help people. I have fun. I like jacked-up 4-wheel drives,” he said.
His wife, Leslie, supports what he’s doing 100 percent.
“It’s the right thing to do. We don’t care what color, what religion. It’s servant leadership. And these are our neighbors," she said.
From Len’s truck, we saw a bull loose on the street. The neighborhood church, cars and trucks, and several homes were underwater.
We also saw Carlton Atkins realizing how bad things are.
“It’s kind of devastating, actually. I’m kind of starting to shake a little bit because this is officially the first time I’ve seen all of this,” Atkins said.
Eventually, Carlton jumped out of the truck and went waste deep to get a closer look at his family’s home.
Brea Lake and her husband Michael got a ride out in Len’s truck. Their home is one of the few here that didn’t flood.
“Everybody’s really got to come together and help one another like we’ve seen everybody doing. But it’s rough,” Lake said.
The problem here isn't going away. Flooding is expected to get worse over the next few days as more water drains from the Green Swamp in Polk County, south into Hardee County.