This past week, after severe bouts of thunderstorms, Florida fell victim to historic levels of flooding. Consequently, many citizens have been bounded in their homes as they’re unable to navigate the water.

Fort Lauderdale is said to have gotten the worst of it. On Thursday, April 13th, some rain was predicted, but not nearly to that extent. “The amount of rainfall is unprecedented,” commented Mayor Dean Trantalis. Nearly 26 inches of rain were reported to have fallen in the span of 7 hours, the most rainfall seen by Florida since 1980.

Many buildings across the city are facing severe water damage, including schools. Valerie Wanza, the school district’s chief of staff, remarked, “Thus far, we have been able to assess preliminarily $2 million in damages to our schools.” Despite this, not all schools were closed. Students have been seen huddling under covered areas while trying to get to class.

The flooding has also affected means of transportation as citizens trying to avoid the water by driving away. Some gas stations outside of Fort Lauderdale ran out of fuel too with lines of cars stretching out into the street. A lot of people stock up on fuel in a state of fear, a phenomenon seen many times before. Daniella Levine, mayor of Miami-Dade County, said, “Overly stocking up on gas is creating an extra strain on the delivery system. In other words, there’s no need to panic.” Due to the shortage, a million gallons of gas have been transported to South Florida by the state. Fuel levels remain low, but they’re currently seeing improvement over a week later.

Though the storm has calmed down and the rain has stopped, South Florida communities continue to work hard in rebuilding themselves and reducing the extreme amount of damage they faced.