They jumped out windows. They walked in water up to their chest during the height of the storm. They said there were shocked that their homes flooded.

Bonita Shores residents were told their neighborhood would never flood. It is one of the highest points west of US 41. When the Walker family built the community in the 1950s, they dug canals on the west end and used all that fill to raise the entire community.

Many of the houses are 12-14 feet above sea level. Bonita Shores has never flooded before. That all changed Sept. 28 as residents watched the water rise in their backyards, slosh over their swimming pools and seep into their homes.

Vicki and Bill Miller were shocked at how fast the water rose.

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“We threw stuff into a backpack and by the time we did that the water was over the doors and we couldn’t get out,” Vicki Miller described. “We went out our brand-new hurricane windows.”

“It was so fast,” Bill Miller added. “We had the side sliding windows so we were able to climb out. It was time to go. We didn’t know how high the water was going to go.”

As the water rushed down the street like a fast-moving river, the couple waded in chest deep water from their West Valley Drive home to 7th Street and up 7th until they found dry land.

“Water was gushing down 7th Street,” Vicki Miller described. “We couldn’t get onto East Valley because of all the water. In the 30 years I have lived here we have never had a water issue.”

After escaping, they went to stay with friends on 8th Street who were not flooded and had a two-story home.

Karen and Dean Gross, both in their 70s, also escaped during the height of the storm.

“It was terrifying,” Karen Gross said. “I just remember the wind and the rain pelting over our faces. The water was chest deep.”

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Although venturing out during the worst of the storm was dangerous, Gross said staying inside was scarier.

“I kept hearing that people die from water more than wind,” she explained. “I didn’t know how high the water would go so I was terrified.”

The couple pushed through the raging water and wind to get down the street to a neighbor with a two-story home. Then Dean used his muscles to pull open a back door and get inside and join his neighbors in upstairs safety.

Across the street, Chuck and Kathleen Carlton decided to stay in their flooded home.

“We just stood in the middle of the house and watched the water fill up,” Chuck Carlton described. “We stood in the water hoping it would go down.”

In about three hours the water finally receded and the Carlton’s were left standing in muddy puddles.

When the storm finally passed the Millers returned home to find their floors, furniture, appliances and cabinets soaked. But Bill Miller cried tears of joy. The urn with the ashes of his deceased son were intact.

“Jack is OK,” he said as tears filled his eyes. “The table had slats on the bottom so it didn’t float. To me this is priceless.”

Now the cleanup has begun. Victims of flooding are happy to see how neighbors are coming together to help each other. Streets that were east of East Valley Drive did not flood. Streets further north in the neighborhood stayed dry too. So those with dry homes are helping those with wet ones. Volunteers from the New Life Church on the corner came through the community to help. They spent a day at the Millers dragging out flooring and furniture. Now they are serving breakfast and dinner to flood victims and helping them move things out of flooded homes. A couple from 9th Street spent an afternoon helping their neighbors empty a shed that had been under five feet of water. A lady on 3rd Street came by with hot blueberry muffins. Others arrived with huge Tupperware bins and boxes for people to stow the belongings they could save.

“We are going to rebuild,” Bill Miller said. “We love it here.”