ZEPHYRHILLS — When his plastic paddle hit the ground, Travis Geiger jumped from his boat to guide him through the murky, waist-deep water that flooded the road of a golf course community.
With one hand on the red inflatable craft, he poked the ground with a 10-foot pole to check for dangers lurking below.
Pushing aside a swath of Spanish moss hanging from a twisted and shattered branch above his head, he could pass for an early explorer wading through the dense Florida wilderness. But his yellow life jacket and hard hat – both supplied by Pasco Fire and Rescue – break the illusion.
Thirty-six hours after Hurricane Milton dumped record rain on Florida as it sliced eastward through the state, Pasco’s riverways rose to their highest levels in nearly a century. Low-lying areas like Silver Oaks, the manicured neighborhood through which Geiger led his four-person rapid water rescue team, have returned to their native Florida swamp.
The close-knit team had already removed five people from this neighborhood during the afternoon. Now they were making a final pass.
It will take weeks to pump water from this community, Geiger estimates. Some residents have chosen not to rescue, hoping to wait for the waters to recede.
“Every time people decide they want to leave, we’re deployed,” Geiger said.
Across the province, Pasco’s team of rescuers pulled more than 200 residents from their flooded homes on Friday. Most rescuers had slept only a few hours each night for the past two weeks as they dealt with the major hurricanes.
Nearly all of these rescuers had flooded or damaged their own homes.
‘Build where it shouldn’t be’
Industrial water pumps have been humming here for months since the neighborhood of 1990s-era single-family homes was deluged by Tropical Storm Debby in August. According to a resident, Hurricane Helene left ankle-deep water in front of most homes two weeks ago.
But when Milton dumped more than a foot of rain on east Pasco, Silver Oaks, which is 30 miles offshore, drowned. Roads were under 2.5 meters of water in some places. The driving range of the adjacent golf course was less than 9 meters. Pumps became unusable.
Silver Oaks is just “one of many examples across the state of the same problem,” Geiger said as the boat floated next to the roof of the community clubhouse.
“Build in places where construction is not allowed. Water piles up with nowhere to go.”
Geiger has called Pasco County home his entire life, and over the past four decades he has seen it transform into something almost unrecognizable.
Subdivisions have replaced swamps and forests. If you build in areas prone to flooding, you create the potential for hazards, he said.
“We need quality planning. We must give the experts the opportunity to guide you towards some kind of balance between growth and nature.”
Since 1970, Pasco’s population has increased sevenfold. Many of those new residents have settled in pre-planned communities like Silver Oaks.
Between Helene and Milton, provincial officials estimate at least 10,000 homes have been damaged. According to spokesperson Jessica Imbimbo, this is a number that will certainly increase as investigations continue.
Just south, in Clearwater, rescuers evacuated a similar low-lying apartment complex Thursday that was submerged under six feet of water.
An elite rescue team
Urban flooding is among the most complex scenarios these teams face, interim Chief Ryann Guynn said. Cloudy water brings dangers that are difficult to foresee – from fallen tree branches to swamp eels. Floods often bring chemicals and bacteria that make it poisonous to the touch.
It takes at least 64 hours of training to qualify for the rapid water rescue team, and it can take years to prove you’re worthy of a spot.
The team’s newest member, Rebecca Pellham, performed her first rescue that morning. She had been with the crew since breakfast.
Pellham, 30, joined Pasco Fire and Rescue five years ago and has taken courses in everything from rope tying to navigating collapsed structures. She nearly drowned during a quick water rescue training session in West Virginia when a snagged safety rope nearly pulled her under.
With long blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail, Pellham was the only member of Geiger’s team without a handlebar mustache.
Once a competitive swimmer and diver, she had long dreamed of using those strengths to help others.
“I’ve always been a water person,” she says.
Now, just days back from her honeymoon – which was interrupted by Hurricane Helene – she got her chance.
Worries waiting at home
On board the 10-foot boat, Geiger’s team was animated and alert. Each turn through the flooded cul-de-sac required careful consideration to avoid hidden debris. A rescuer told the story of finding a fish in a woman’s house. Another was given the unfortunate nickname ‘swiftie’ after commenting on his own light-heartedness.
Geiger, 49, has spent most of the past two days rescuing people from floods. None of them are in his memory, he said.
There’s a reason for that. You can’t get attached to the people you save, nor can you let them get attached to you. Especially if you still have your own worries at home.
When Geiger’s shift finally ends, he doesn’t get a break: His 72-year-old mother’s nearby home is more than a foot underwater.
“It will be one of the first problems I tackle,” Geiger said.
Once that’s taken care of, he’ll tackle the twenty-year-old oak tree that fell in his driveway.
After working 30 hours during Milton’s peak, Geiger had 12 hours off. He spent four of them in the dead of night, trying to move the tree.
With a tropical storm in August and then two major hurricanes in a row, it was difficult to relax. His team had barely finished converting their Helene equipment when they were called to respond to Milton.
“It’s stupid,” he said. “It’s just hard.”
‘If they call, we go’
It took three hours for Geiger and his team to safely evacuate five people from their homes, plus a few cats and dogs.
The team went door to door, jumping over submerged fences and climbing flooded decks to reach those trapped in their homes.
When asked by a Tampa Bay Times reporter if he ever gets annoyed by those who decide to stay when asked to leave, Geiger replied with a furrowed brow, “How much do you know about emergency response?”
“When they call, we go,” he said.
As he weaved the boat through houses and live oak trees, Geiger spotted a woman walking her dog along the water’s edge.
He recognized her and her dog. He had saved them a few hours earlier. “They went back?” he asked incredulously. “I don’t know how I feel about that.”
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