FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – More drivers were having to jump out of their cars and into the dirty flooding water that stalled their engines on Friday in what had become an unremitting déjà vu nightmare in Broward County.
A woman took a gamble and paid the price. She abandoned her ride near another stranded car on Davie Boulevard, west of Interstate 95, in one of the many Fort Lauderdale streets that remained underwater.
The water that started pouring during Wednesday’s deluge — which The National Weather Center referred to as a historic flooding event — also invaded homes and cars in the Melrose Park neighborhood.
“I have lived here since 1987 and it has never been like this,” said Yolanda Spence, a Melrose Park resident. “I was in tears this morning when I got up.”
Spence told Local 10 News that she’s been spending the last two days cleaning up after water flooded every room in her home.
“The water was coming in through the front and from the sewer because everything was backing up,” she said.
Flood waters have receded a few inches in Melrose Park but some streets are still underwater.
“The trucks going by is just making it worse-- it’s just going into the house,” said Spence.
WEATHER AUTHORITY: Afternoon rainfall to delay recovery
John Beckett, another Melrose Park resident, said he has lived in his beloved neighborhood for 28 years and he had never seen the area as flooded as it was on Thursday and Friday. His neighbor, who has lived in the area for about 35 years, concurred.
“It went down the last four hours more than it has in the last two days,” Becket said on Friday morning, as afternoon rain threatened to slow the recovery.
Spence said water got into her living room, family room, and bedrooms. The dirty water, she said, was coming in through the front and from the sewer because everything was backing up.
“My stuff in the bottom of my closet is soaking wet,” Spence said, as there was moving water still near her door on Friday afternoon.
“The trucks going by ... is just making it worse; it’s just going into the house,” Spence said.
A tow truck driver was coming back to the neighborhood to hook an abandoned car on its way to Firestone in Plantation. Scott Vesane, who works there as a transmissions expert, said nearly 40 cars have arrived for repairs.
“If we can save it, we can,” Vesane said adding that when water comes through the intake it goes into the motor and it does what he calls a “hydro-lock.”
> Scott Vesane, plantation Firestone expert transmission: when water comes through the intake it goes into the motor and it does what we call hydrolock.
“When it hydrolocks, you can’t compress water, it’s catastrophic failure, said Vesane.
Meanwhile, Melrose Park residents told Local 10 News that they’re hoping officials respond quickly to the flooding.
“They’re concerned about putting lights in Melrose Park. They need to concentrate on taking care of ths, so it doesn’t happen again,” said Spence.
Public Works released the following statement in regard to the recent flooding which you can read here:
“City of Fort Lauderdale has been dispatching pumping resources to the Melrose Park area since early in the crisis. We are currently working with Broward County to reduce flooding on SW. 31st Ave. and provide additional discharge capacity. We have also reached out to regional water managers to try and provide additional discharge from the system. City staff are also working to clear the debris from the main discharge point near Kentucky Avenue. As additional resources come into the City, we are prioritizing this neighborhood and other heavily impacted areas for additional pumping capabilities.”
COMPLETE COVERAGE: Flooding emergency in areas of Broward