Flooded home cleanup and drying in Fort Lauderdale, 33301
Fort Lauderdale's canals, low inland neighborhoods and record rainfall mean a flooded floor here can come from the street, the yard or the unit upstairs, and every hour of standing water makes the dry-out harder.
On April 12 2023 the airport gauge recorded 25.91 inches, the most rain the city has ever measured in one day. Homes in Edgewood and around downtown filled with water, and many owners learned how fast drywall, baseboards and flooring soak through. Our crews come up from Miami to extract the water, open what has to be opened and dry the house properly.
At a glance
- Area
- Fort Lauderdale
- From our office
- 1428 Brickell Ave, Floor 3
- Phones
- Answered 24/7
- Most calls
- Flood Damage Cleanup
Kelda Restoration covers Fort Lauderdale, including downtown, the canal isles and inland neighborhoods such as Edgewood and Riverland. Most work here is flood and storm water cleanup, with condo leaks and mold after a slow dry-out close behind. Call (786) 947-0034 day or night. A person answers, and our crew heads up I-95 with extraction and drying equipment.
Canal homes, inland blocks and towers
The city has about 165 miles of inland waterways, which is where the Venice of America nickname comes from. Single-family homes line canal finger-isles in Rio Vista, Las Olas Isles and Coral Ridge, while inland neighborhoods such as Edgewood and Riverland are mostly 1940s to 1960s concrete-block houses.
High-rise condos stand downtown and along the beach, and mobile home parks sit near the airport. Each of these takes on water in its own way, so the plan for a canal-front house is rarely the plan for a high-floor unit.
What the 2023 and 2024 floods showed
In April 2023, parts of the city near and north of downtown sat under one to two feet of water, and areas around Floyd Hull Stadium saw more than three feet. One southwest Edgewood resident reported nearly three feet inside the home, and about 600 people sheltered at Holiday Park.
Raised homes were not spared: a Lauder Lakes mobile home set four feet off the ground still took 12 inches of water inside. Fourteen months later, the June 2024 floods brought more than 20 inches, and June 12 alone delivered a normal month of rain in 24 hours.
Drying a flooded house the right way
Flood water from outside is treated as contaminated, so wet carpet and pad, soaked insulation and the lower part of affected drywall usually come out. We make flood cuts above the wet line, clean and treat the exposed framing, then run dehumidifiers and air movers until the meters read dry.
In condo towers we book the service elevator, protect hallways and work with the building manager, since water often crosses into units below. You get photos, moisture readings and a written scope for your claim. Keep in mind that standard homeowners policies usually exclude flood unless you carry separate flood coverage.
Neighbors we reach on the same trip
Our crews also work in Wilton Manors, Oakland Park, Dania Beach, Plantation and Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. I-95, I-595 and US-1 make each of them a short hop from a Fort Lauderdale job.
When a citywide storm keeps every one of our crews busy, we hand your call to another trusted local restoration provider instead of leaving you to wait, and we tell you plainly when that happens.
Where water and mold start in Fort Lauderdale
Record one-day rainfall
25.91 inches fell at FLL on April 12 2023, far past the 1979 record of 14.59 inches.
165 miles of canals
Canal-front homes on the finger-isles can see water rise from the waterway side as well as from rain falling on the yard.
Edgewood and low inland blocks
Southwest Edgewood needed water rescues in 2023, and one home there took nearly three feet of water.
Barrier island surge
Hurricane Irma in September 2017 put two to three feet of water over the barrier island from Fort Lauderdale Beach south.
Services we run most in Fort Lauderdale
Flood Damage Cleanup
Rising water and street flooding cleaned out, with flood cuts where needed.
See the serviceEmergency Water Extraction
Truck-mounted and portable extraction to pull standing water out fast.
See the serviceFlood Cuts & Drywall Removal
Wet drywall and baseboards cut out at a clean line so walls can dry.
See the serviceStructural Drying & Dehumidification
Air movers and dehumidifiers set up, logged daily and pulled once dry.
See the serviceCondo Water Damage
Unit-to-unit leaks in high-rises, worked alongside building management.
See the serviceInsurance Claim Documentation
Photos, moisture logs and scope notes organized for your adjuster.
See the serviceFort Lauderdale: questions we hear
Water came into our Fort Lauderdale house after heavy rain. Can we just mop and run fans?
Mopping helps with the surface, but rain flood water seeps under baseboards, into wall bottoms and beneath flooring where fans cannot reach. Left there, it grows mold within days in this humidity. We measure what is wet and remove or dry it properly.
Will a homeowners policy pay for flood damage in Fort Lauderdale?
Most standard homeowners policies do not cover flood, so you usually need a separate flood policy for rising water. A pipe or appliance leak is a different kind of claim. We document everything either way so you and your adjuster have the same records.
Do you work in Fort Lauderdale condo towers downtown and on the beach?
Yes. We coordinate with management for elevator use, work hours and access to the units below. Each affected unit gets its own readings and photos so the association and each owner can sort out their parts of the repair.
How far up the wall do you cut after a flood in a Fort Lauderdale home?
It depends on how high the water rose and how far it wicked. We read the wall with meters first, then cut a straight line above the wet area, which on many homes ends up a couple of feet off the floor.
Other places our crews cover
Water damage in Fort Lauderdale? Call our crew lead.
A person answers every call, day or night. Tell us what got wet and when it started, and we will tell you what happens next.