Edgewood family says they can no longer live in their home
FORT LAUDERDALE - Marlies Perez's home and everything she and her family own is in ruin after historic rainfall slammed her Edgewood neighborhood.
"The water started rising up very fast, and it started filtering through the house and all through the walls and the doors and windows and everything just started going up, up, up, up, up and that was when we started to panic," said Perez.
Wednesday night, the water in her home was so high, Perez and her sons were forced to jump out their kitchen window to escape.
"The water was like up to here like I didn't know if I was going to survive or not," said Rafael Milano, Perez's son.
"The window it was really high from the water so I had to like make like a high jump and the water was very high and it was almost up to my neck," said Miguel Milano, Perez's son.
Saturday was her family's first day back in their home, and it was overwhelming.
"Everything I possibly knew was just destroyed, everything that I possibly worked on was just gone," said Julian Perez.
The Perez-Milano family along with their neighbors saw some of the worst flooding in Fort Lauderdale.
Saturday, city officials announced FEMA would tour the area to determine if residents qualify for federal assistance.
"The city is looking for individuals who have had 36 inches of flooding on the interior of their homes. Now, you may say what's 36 inches? A door knob. If you've got flooding up to the doorknob that's a really good measure in your house of what 36 inches might look like," said Kevin Guthrie, director of Florida's Department of Emergency Management.
As clean-up continues for Perez, she hopes FEMA can provide some much-needed help to her and her neighbors.
"I mean, I know that I have lost everything, so I'm hoping that they do give me some assistance," said Perez.
