The worst of Hurricane Milton had passed the Tampa Bay area when David Fletcher, 48, heard eerie gurgling outside his door.

Fletcher thought he’d be safe at The Standard at 2690 Apartments in Clearwater. The 16-acre complex of squat two-story walk-ups, which lie just northwest of the Bayside Bridge, was outside Pinellas County’s mandatory evacuation zone, the building’s property manager wrote to residents Tuesday.

Fletcher rode out the worst of the storm in his faded Jeep Grand Cherokee parked outside his home, ready for a last-minute evacuation. He went back inside around 9 p.m., thinking the worst had passed. He counted himself lucky for getting through the storm unscathed — the only water in the parking lot was an inch-deep puddle.

Five hours later, the complex was flooded with neck-high water in places, leading to what Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri called “the most significant water rescue” in the county’s history. It took local officials more than eight hours to evacuate more than 540 residents from their inundated homes. Residents took shelter on their neighbors’ second-story balconies, trapped as the waters swelled.

“I was sure, and I’m glad I was wrong, that we were going to see some casualties out of that,” Gualtieri said at a Thursday morning news conference.

Water rushes in

At 2 a.m. Fletcher was awakened by the sound of sloshing water. Confused, he checked his bathtub and toilet by the light of his phone. Both seemed fine.

His unit lost power sometime early in the evening, so through the darkness he made his way to the door. When he opened it, waist-deep water rushed in.

On the street, he could see water rising fast. How was this possible, he wondered? The sky was clear, the wind had long since died down and it hadn’t rained for hours.

Wading through the rushing surge, he noticed the unmistakable funk of stagnant pond water.

The waterline climbed his legs, tables and chairs were already bobbing in the water. He gave himself five minutes to collect his computer, phone and birth certificate before running back to his Jeep – now up to its tires in the swirling murk.

In some ways Fletcher was lucky. He lives on the highest ground near the entry of the complex. He managed to evacuate on foot and his car was spared.

Rainfall flooding, not surge

It’s not uncommon for the The Standard to flood in a storm. The rear of the complex, which abuts a retention pond, sat under nearly two feet of water after Hurricane Helene, Fletcher said.

“We are well aware of that location,” said David Kadau, Clearwater Fire and Rescue’s chief of training and special operations. The highest point of The Standard sits roughly 10 feet below the Best Buy across the road. It’s a sharp drop from the street to the complex’s front parking area.

Evacuation zones are set by the risk of storm surge, but the flooding at the apartments was caused by rainfall, according to county spokesperson David Connor. The units were built in the 1970s, possibly before flood maps were created for the area.

The type of urban flooding that occurred at The Standard Thursday is among the most challenging rescue environments for first responders, Kadau said. When they arrived shortly after 5:30 a.m. Thursday the complex was pitch black, he said. Tree branches and downed powerlines lay in the street. From the darkness, all they could hear were the cries for help.

Trapped by rising water

Isiah Archer struggled to keep his nerves under control as he watched the water crest the front door of the units on the first floor of his apartment building.

He’d grown accustomed to the occasional flooding in the neighborhood, but this time the water was coming in faster than ever.

Earlier in the day, Archer, 26, watched neighbors putting out sandbags. Nobody seemed particularly worried. They weren’t told to leave after all.

Now those sandbags were submerged under four feet of water. The gut-wrenching realization set in: He, his mom and their Yorkshire terrier, Diogi, couldn’t forge the flood. They were trapped.

It wasn’t long before Archer heard an evacuation boat approach his balcony. The rescuers motored up and told them to get in. They had a dog and some emergency packing to do, Archer told them. Could they swing back around in a few minutes?

The family hustled to grab the essentials. The sun still hadn’t risen.

Five minutes passed when the rescuers said it was time to get in. Bags and the terrier in hand, the mother and son were motored to safety.

Rethinking where you live

In an email sent Thursday morning, property managers informed tenants that they would need to evacuate for 24 to 48 hours. But Fletcher is skeptical his ground-floor unit will be habitable again that soon.

In the meantime, Fletcher, an elevator mechanic, will have to pay for a hotel. He’s already missed work due to Helene and doesn’t know when he’ll get his next paycheck.

Fletcher moved to Tampa Bay from Georgia four years ago. Now he’s rethinking his decision.

“I want to just roll with it, but I can’t. You have to rethink where you live,” he said.

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