DELAND, Fla. – David and Jamie Swink had weathered plenty of Florida storms in their DeLand home. But when Hurricane Milton rolled through last October, it brought something they hadn’t prepared for: water rising fast and from every direction.
David said he and his wife “thought we were OK” being above sea level, but they woke up to something they didn’t expect.
“At 6:30 it was dry,” David recalled. “By 7:30, there were 4 to 6 inches, and it was still coming in.”
At first, the Swinks thought they could manage. They used every towel in the house to block the water seeping under the front door.
“That’s when I thought, ‘Uh, oh,’” Jamie said. “‘We’re in trouble.’”
As water crept into every corner, they scrambled to lift furniture and save what they could. Family heirlooms, like a handmade grandfather clock from Jamie’s great-uncle, were spared. Much of the rest was not.
The flooding brought more than just rain.
“It smelled bad,” David said. “It was sewage from the pump station downhill.”
The couple was rescued just after 7:30 a.m. by local fire and police crews. With water rising fast, they were handed life jackets and rushed to safety.
The damage was extensive, especially to the floors. But the Swinks were among the lucky few who had flood insurance, even though their home isn’t in a designated flood zone.
“When Ian hit two years ago, we had fish swimming up to here,” David said as he gestured to his yard. “We were warned last season might be rough, so I thought I better get flood insurance. Thank God I did.”
The Swinks were spared the worst of it. Their neighbors, both in their 80s, weren’t as lucky.
“They woke up at 4 a.m. floating on their mattress,” David shared.
Most of the Swinks’ home has been repaired. What’s left is cosmetic, a broken hot tub, some finish work. But they’re not taking any chances going forward.
“We’ve applied for an Elevate Florida grant to raise the house,” David said. “And we’re looking into barriers to keep the water out next time.”
The Swinks say they never imagined this could happen, especially at nearly 40 feet above sea level. But now, they’re getting ready for whatever comes next.
“A flood we never saw coming,” David said.
And as the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season is about begin, David said, “Now, we’ve got a plan to be ready.”