‘We’ve got to get out of here.’ One family’s escape from the Fort Lauderdale flood
Water was seeping under the walls Wednesday night and overflowing through the toilet and tub in the single-story house that Dustin and Karly Andrews rent near the Fort Lauderdale airport.
By midnight, they took refuge on the couch with their children, ages 1 and 7, and Nala, their yellow Labrador. The floor was flooded below, the water rising above the baseboards.
“Once it started getting close to the outlets I said we’ve got to get out of here,” Dustin, 30, recalled. “We’re standing in calf-high water.”
By then, they knew the front door wasn’t an option; the water outside on Southwest 26th Street was already high enough that they couldn’t push it open earlier. That left the windows, with Dustin going first and Karly handing him Nala and the children before heading out into the even deeper water outside.
“It was past my waist,” Karly, 26, said. “Thank God my husband has a truck.”
They drove through flooded streets, and past disabled cars, to get to higher ground in Davie in southwest Broward, where Karly’s parents live.
Dustin said floodwaters were still too high for them to get back home on Thursday, but he’s counting on having to replace most of the family’s particle-board furniture.
READ MORE: Chest-high water, boat rescues after ‘unprecedented’ rainfall in Fort Lauderdale area
A friend launched a GoFundMe page to cover some of the Andrews family’s flood expenses, one of several that went live in the Fort Lauderdale area after the historic deluge. A GoFundMe spokesperson said about $25,000 had been raised from the Fort Lauderdale floods as of Thursday night.
On Thursday, the couple said they were still amazed at how quickly the house flood went from a costly mess to one that had them worried for their lives. What started as a flooded garage shifted to a makeshift effort to keep the foyer dry, with piles of towels by the front door reinforced by a growing collection of clothes in an attempt to sop up the rainwater.
By the time the entire floor was flooded, the couple was calling friends and family and posting footage on social media to get a consensus on what to do next. “We’re sitting on the couch, stacked on top of each other, trying not to put our feet in the water,” Dustin said. “Everybody’s opinion was opposite. Some were saying leave, some were saying don’t leave.”
Once outside, the water was deep enough that Nala was able to swim around the truck before getting inside for the harrowing ride to Davie. “I was scared to leave,” Dustin said, with the water already up to the truck’s tailgate as the rain continued. “As we were driving down the road, water was coming in by my feet.”
The family dodged disabled cars in the flooded streets, but arrived safely at the grandparents’ home. By Thursday evening, the couple — he’s in sales and she’s a hair stylist — was touring a potential new rental home in the Davie area.
“We’re looking for a higher place,” Dustin said. “I know it floods everywhere. It shouldn’t be this bad.”
This story was originally published April 13, 2023 at 7:15 PM.