Fort Lauderdale lives with water on every side
Fort Lauderdale, with 182,760 residents in the 2020 census, is the largest city in Broward County and calls itself the Venice of America for its 165 miles of inland waterways. Its listed elevation is about 7 feet above sea level. It averages close to 61 inches of rain a year, most of it from May through October, with June the wettest month. Canals and the Intracoastal Waterway carry that water away, until there is more of it than they can take.
When water ends up inside, call (844) 906-3984. Dominion Water Damage is a free phone line, not a restoration company. The automated assistant asks what happened and transfers you to an independent, locally owned company that serves Fort Lauderdale. That company inspects, gives you its own price and does the work.
April 12, 2023: the day the record fell
25.91 inches
Measured at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on April 12, 2023, far above the city's previous one-day record of 14.59 inches from April 1979.
Five to midnight
NOAA's climate briefing says heavy rain fell at the airport almost continuously from about 5 p.m. to midnight, across an area of 15 to 25 inches in Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood.
Water in homes
In Edgewood, in southwest Fort Lauderdale, one resident reported nearly 3 feet of water in the home. About 600 people sheltered in Holiday Park, and damage was estimated at $1.1 billion.
Fourteen months later, in June 2024, Fort Lauderdale had its wettest June day on record during a storm that brought more than 20 inches over several days. Big rain is not a once-in-a-lifetime event here.
What is local about water damage in Fort Lauderdale
Neighborhoods on the city's flood list
The EPA invited the city to apply for a $104 million federal loan for stormwater work in seven neighborhoods with chronic flooding: Edgewood, Victoria Park, River Oaks, Durrs, Dorsey Riverbend, South East Isles and Progresso Village, about 30,000 people in all.
King tides on A1A
During the late September 2026 king tides, WLRN reported a two-mile stretch of State Road A1A in Fort Lauderdale closed by police. Tides reach canal-side yards and low streets too, and slow how fast rain drains.
New Broward flood maps
Broward's updated FEMA maps took effect July 31, 2024. The county viewer shows your old and new zone side by side, which is worth checking before you renew insurance.
Hurricane-zone building rules
Broward is in the Florida Building Code's High-Velocity Hurricane Zone. Repairs to windows, doors and roofs after storm damage can need permits and approved products, so ask the company before work starts.
From canal homes to downtown towers
Fort Lauderdale's housing runs from older neighborhoods near the New River, such as Rio Vista, Colee Hammock and Tarpon River, to waterfront homes on the isles and condo buildings downtown and along the beach. A canal home is more exposed to tides and surge; a condo is more exposed to leaks from the unit above. Either way, say which you have when you call, and the company that picks up will know what to bring.
- Emergency water removal for active leaks and ceiling drips
- Flood damage cleanup after rain, tides or surge
- Water damage repair once the readings say dry
- Mold after water damage, routed to a mold specialist
When the water is outside water
If the water came in from a flooded street, a canal or a tide, the cleanup is handled as contaminated water, and porous materials it touched usually come out. Photograph the waterline on the walls before anything is moved, report to your insurers, and see flood damage vs water damage for why the source matters.
Floodwater in the house
- If anyone is hurt or in danger, call 911 first.
- Stay out of standing water that may touch outlets, cords or appliances. Do not try to fix anything electrical.
- If it is safe to reach, shut off the main water valve to stop a leak.
- Stay out of floodwater; it can carry sewage and debris.
Say you are in Fort Lauderdale, your neighborhood, and whether the water came from inside or outside.
Other South Florida towns
- All of Florida
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- West Palm Beach
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- Pompano Beach
- Coral Springs
- Hollywood
- Doral
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- Hialeah
- Miami Gardens
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- Kendall
- Homestead
- Miami Lakes
- Miramar
About this line: Dominion Water Damage is a free phone line, not a restoration company. It answers your call and connects you with an independent local water damage restoration company, which inspects, quotes and does the work, and which you pay directly. Companies may pay a referral fee. You never pay the line. See how the line works.