Florida couple gets help to pump floodwater out of Titusville home

Florida couple gets help pumping floodwater out of Titusville home

A Florida couple finally got floodwater out of their home after historic rain a week ago in Titusville. An estimated 3.5 million gallons of water inundated Greg and Carolina Sones’ property following torrential rain on October 26. They spent the last week couch surfing with friends and neighbors.

TITUSVILLE, Fla. - A Florida couple finally got floodwater out of their home after historic rain a week ago in Titusville. 

They spent the last week couch-surfing with friends and neighbors.

The backstory:

An estimated 3.5 million gallons of floodwater inundated Greg and Carolina Sones’ Titusville property following torrential rain on October 26.

The couple says they’ve lived through hurricanes and other major storms and have never experienced flooding this severe. They believe new development, drainage issues and unmaintained ditches and culverts are to blame.

Greg Sones was home when the water began creeping into the house. He said within 30 minutes, nine inches of water inundated his home.

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"Anything in its path, it was just destroying," Greg Sones said. "It was heartbreaking. We lost our wedding stuff; we lost family pictures."

Neighbors to the rescue

Herb Wickward’s wife, Melanie, saw a photo of the sones’ home on social media. She sent her hubby to lend a hand.

The Wickwards own Heavy Metal Site Development, and Herb didn’t waste any time rolling up his sleeves.

"You’re doing this for free?" asked FOX 35 reporter Hannah Mackenzie. "Yeah," Wickward replied. "Why not? They needed help."

Wickward already had the pump. He said he bought extra hoses and got to work moving the water — a task easier said than done. According to Wickward, he used approximately 250 feet of hose line to take the floodwater through a cramped culvert, then onto a neighboring property — all with permission.

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"Our main goal was just to get it below their garage door and their house, so their house could start drying out," Wickward said.

After three days of pumping, Wickward estimated he'd moved about 500,000 gallons off the sones’ property."They’re a godsend," said Carolina Sones. "They really are… they are a godsend."

What's next:

The Sones say their home is not located in a flood zone, so they don’t have flood insurance. All remediation and renovation costs will have to be paid out of pocket.