A Palm Bay woman said strangers answered her appeal on social media Monday after floodwater entered her home near California Avenue, leaving her and her young son stranded on a kitchen counter with their three dogs. Brittany Grant said the people who responded helped her family escape when she could not find another way out.
The rescue came as flooding across Brevard County forced evacuations, prompted rescues and closed roads, with some neighborhoods submerged. Officials warned that dangerous conditions remained heading into Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 3. The governor declared a state of emergency, Brevard Public Schools announced another day of closures Tuesday, and officials said flooding was forcing some polling locations to move.
Grant said she had lived in her neighborhood for eight years without seeing flooding of this kind. As water surged through the house, she recorded a video and shared it online. She said the water reached roughly two feet above her knees, pushing her, her son Nikoa and their dogs onto the kitchen counter.
Speaking Monday night, Grant described water flowing outside her home like a river and covering the interior. The family had no route out, she said. Grant said she tried calling 911 three times but was told no emergency resources were available. She then turned to social media to ask for help.
People she did not know responded, including someone with a paddleboard and another person in a kayak. In a video showing help arriving, Grant thanked the rescuers. A neighbor explained that their mother had seen Grant's Facebook post. “The community came together and saved us,” Grant said.
Her son, Nikoa Pastorius, said the experience was frightening and intensified his anxiety. He described feeling stressed as they waited inside the flooded house and said he was glad to have escaped. Grant, her son and their three dogs are now staying with a friend.
Grant said a couple with a raised truck also messaged to say they were coming. The young people on the paddleboard reached the house first, while the couple waited at the end of the driveway. Grant said she was grateful that people had recognized her distress and come to help.
Florida Power & Light utility crews were positioned nearby, but water continued to cover some streets. Restoration in the areas hit hardest by the flooding could take days.
