Broward County flooding causing mess of cars in need of repair

Flooding also impacting Fort Lauderdale areas dealing with sewage leaks

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Auto shops in South Florida are dealing with car engines damaged due to flooding.

Alan Gelfand at German Car Depot in Hollywood told Local 10 News' Saira Anwar if you think you have engine damage, you better act fast.

"The longer it sits, the more damage you have," Gelfand said.

Gelfand said vehicle owners should get their car towed to a place with experience handling hydro lock.

"We try to get all the water out of everything first before we do anything," he said.

Damaged vehicles are only part of the problem residents in Broward County are dealing with following last weekend's heavy rainfall.

Bill and Karen Amlong’s home in the Rio Vista neighborhood in Fort Lauderdale was already dealt one blow last week.

"They are pumping millions of gallons of raw sewage into the Tarpon River here from those three burst pipes," Karen Amlong said.

If the nasty fecal mess killing the plants in their backyard wasn’t enough, the sudden flooding only made things worse.

"Half of the living room was just squashing like a sponge full of water," she said.

Living in the same home for 30 years, the Amlong's told Local 10 News they haven’t dealt with flooding this bad outside of a hurricane. They said the situation doesn’t look promising.

“We’re concerned about property values now,” Karen said. “I don’t think this is going to get better with all the climate change. I think there’s high tide, King Tides, are going to keep going.”


About the Author:

Saira Anwer joined the Local 10 News team in July 2018. Saira is two-time Emmy-nominated reporter and comes to South Florida from Madison, Wisconsin, where she was working as a reporter and anchor.