‘Barely made it out.’ Here’s how to help victims of South Florida’s severe flooding
Historic flooding in South Florida made hundreds of families and residents homeless or without much of the items they hold dear as water overtook neighborhoods and some homes throughout the week.
Many are in need of aid, and some have used GoFundMe to ask for much-needed funds to rebuild their lives. As of Friday night, 53 GoFundMe campaigns were created by residents affected by the flood or on behalf of families.
Many recounted tales of flood water overtaking their homes and forcing them to safety with little more than the clothes on their backs.
GoFundMe created a centralized hub of verified flood victim campaigns for willing donors to easily access those in need. Here are a few families who’ve asked for aid.
‘Family of 4 homeless after historic rainfall’
Tara, a mother of two, never thought she would need a GoFundMe effort, but that changed when she was flooded out of her home, she wrote in her donation campaign.
Wednesday afternoon water began seeping into her home as storms pounded her neighborhood. She said that the flood water quickly rose above the home’s foundation and started seeping through the walls.
“I knew it was time to get us out of the situation,” she wrote.
She, her husband and children jumped into his pickup truck.
‘My husband thankfully has an old but amazing pickup that barely made it out of flood waters to get us out of the area,” she wrote.
Tara says her home is uninhabitable and still has thigh-deep water.
“We left with only the clothes on our back, and eventually the water level made it above our windows, flooding our home with over two feet of water,” she wrote.
Her campaign can be found here.
‘We don’t have the finances to move’
Kristin, a mother who is 36 weeks pregnant, had little time to comprehend the severity of the flooding in her home, she wrote in her GoFundMe campaign.
She was with her 4-year-old son when the water started rushing in, quickly spreading to every room in her home — from her new baby’s room to her own. Within 30 minutes of realizing they were taking on water, the home was completely flooded, she wrote.
The family just moved in November and had no plan for a natural disaster that would “take everything away from them so quickly.”
“We don’t have the finances to move into a new home due to the fact that I have just stopped working due to how far along I am,” Kristin, 36, wrote.
Her campaign can be found here.
‘Lost everything in flood. Please help.’
Brent, 26, is autistic and has severe ulcerative colitis. He was with his little dog, Rodney, when flooding ruined his new clothing, furniture and much more, his mother Kristy wrote in a donation campaign. About 20 inches of rain flooded his neighborhood.
She said it was his first time living on his own, and he affords it through Social Security disability. He only moved in six months ago.
“He has no savings and lives check to check,” she wrote.
Her campaign can be found here.
This story was originally published April 14, 2023 at 9:18 PM.
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