The Storm that Led Us Home

When Hurricane Milton barreled toward Temple Terrace, Florida, Angel Figueroa did what he always does: put others first.

As a member of SouthState’s Corporate Real Estate team, Angel is one of the people who maintains and services branches across the Tampa area. He’s used to being on the front lines before and after storms to board up windows, create barriers with sandbags, clear debris, and make sure customers and teammates can return to business safely.

But this time, the storm hit home – literally.

At 10 p.m. on October 9th, rain began seeping through the cracks of his ground-floor apartment. His wife tried to mop it up while Angel focused on keeping her calm, assuring her that he would get a vacuum in the morning to get the water out. By 10:45, water began rushing in through the front door, and within 20 minutes, two feet of water had filled their rental home.

“I started wondering if we should leave or ride it out,” Angel said. “But then I realized we couldn’t stay. The water was rising quickly, and we still had power. Being in maintenance, I’m very familiar with the dangers of water and electricity, and this situation was getting too risky.”

Outside, lightning flashed, debris flew, and trees were falling. Inside, his daughters sobbed, afraid to face the dark floodwater outside their door. Angel grabbed a bag for each family member and made the call: they had to leave, now.

A Walk Through the Floodwaters

As he opened the front door, a rush of water surged into the apartment, now waist-deep. His work van was their only chance of escape, as it was parked up the street on higher ground. Angel thought if he could get his family and pets to the van, and drive to his sister-in-law’s house, that was their best chance at safety.

“My daughters didn’t want to leave; they were crying and screaming because they were afraid to go out in the water,” he said. At that point though, he knew it would be safer for them to leave than to stay put. “I told my daughters to hold hands and trust me. I would get them to the van. At the time, it felt like we were swimming through 10 miles of water.”

Their hundred-pound dog was panicking. His son helped drag the dog through the water, while Angel got his daughters to safety in the van. His wife, however, wasn’t ready to leave. She was in shock, panicking – trying to grab memories, keepsakes, anything she could carry. Angel had to beg her to let it go. “I kept telling her, ‘We have to go. Everything that matters is in that van.’”

After fighting flooded streets, little to no visibility, and street posts bending from the strength of the wind, they arrived safely at Angel’s sister-in-law’s house. “I was praying out loud, just asking God to keep the muffler dry so the van wouldn’t cut off,” he said. “I’m not a religious man, but that night, I know angels were around us.”

Losing Everything, Gaining a Village

By 6 a.m. the next day, the water had receded, and Angel and his wife had to return and clean out their flooded three-bedroom, two-bath rental they had lived in for years. “We were throwing memories in the trash,” he said. “We lost the stuff that is priceless: baby clothes, crafts our kids’ made throughout school, keepsakes our mothers passed on to us when they left this earth. It was – and still is – heartbreaking.”

While their home was being assessed and repaired by their landlord, they moved into his sister-in-law’s two-bedroom apartment with their three children, dog, and two cats. “It was crowded, she has four kids of her own, and then we all moved in,” he said. It was hard, but the real hardship wasn’t just logistical, it was emotional.
Angel had always been the strong one. The provider. The man who never asked for help. And now, he was at a place in his life where he really needed it. 

That’s when SouthState showed up – not just as an employer, but as family.

When The Storm Cleared, SouthState Showed Up

His boss, Chris Firdoch, didn’t just offer support, he delivered it. “The day after the storm, he showed up at my house with gas, food, and tools. He cleaned up the markets I couldn’t get to. He got the word out. He was the reason people started showing up for me.”

And show up they did. From tellers to executives, the SouthState family rallied. When Angel walked into branches to do maintenance, he was met with clothes, food, gift cards, and open arms.

“These were people I didn’t even know; they were crying, hugging me, giving me envelopes,” Angel said. “One branch gave me $500. One department raised $3,000 through our corporate real estate vendors. VPs I had never met were calling to check on me.”

One day, his boss even invited him to lunch and surprised him with an envelope full of donations. “I didn’t know how to react,” Angel said. “It was so much love at once.”

Even though he had never asked for help before, Angel learned the beauty in receiving it. “I realized there are still so many good people in this world; there is still so much kindness and so much humanity. SouthState reminded me of that.”

From Shelter to Stability

In the weeks after the storm, Angel and his wife tried to secure another rental. With no savings and no place to go, the idea of homeownership felt impossible. But something had shifted in Angel. “I just had this feeling that this is our time. My student loans had been forgiven. People were helping us. I told my wife, ‘Let’s just try.’”

After expressing interest in becoming a homeowner to the Riverside branch employees, they referred him to mortgage banker, Joey Bunker – who, Angel says, made it personal from the very beginning.

“He wasn’t focused on selling me a mortgage. He cared about me. He asked how I was doing. He listened to my story. I’ll never forget that.”

Joey got to work immediately looking for first-time homebuyer programs. Angel had no down payment saved, and his credit had only recently improved. There were setbacks, denials, and mountains of paperwork.

“There were times I lost hope. I didn’t think it was going to happen,” Angel recalls. “Joey never gave up though. He kept saying, ‘If this one doesn’t work, we’ll find something else.’ And eventually, he did.”

Right after the New Year, Joey found a down payment assistance program that would provide $44,000 toward a home in Lakeland. Angel and his wife found a beautiful three-bedroom house with a yard; a place they could call their own and build a future.

Mortgage bankers aren’t required to show up to closings in person, but this was one Joey didn’t want to miss. He showed up to watch Angel sign the papers and get the keys to his first home because he knew it wasn’t going to be your everyday mortgage closing.

A Key to New Beginnings

Today, Angel walks through his new home with a sense of peace he’s never known. “Sometimes I still can’t believe it. For the last 23 years, I have wanted to be a homeowner and was never able to make it happen. Now, I have something of my own. I don’t need anything else.”

His story is about more than surviving a hurricane. It’s about the strength of family, the kindness of strangers, and the power of community.

“I’m not rich, but I’m content. My kids never go without, and now they have a home.” Angel’s journey has strengthened his faith – in people, in perseverance, and in the goodness that still exists in the world.

“If you take anything from my story, let it be this: there are still good people out there. People who will give you the shirt off their back. People who care.”

He hopes to work at SouthState until he retires, and he’ll always remember what they did for him. “They didn’t forget about the little guy. And that means everything.”