A grey sky with constant rain and then a sunny, clear sky in five minutes is a common feature of living in Florida. Rain showers are common and tropical storms just mean a little more rain and winds than usual. However, tropical storm Eta caused many South Floridians homes to turn into lake front properties and stay trapped indoors. Businesses were flooded, neighborhoods became swapped, and cars were left stranded. 

   Tropical storm Eta was a surprise to South Floridians as it wasn’t expected to cause so much flooding. Trinidad Rojas, a junior, explained, “My parents woke me up at 8 in the morning to look outside and I was shocked. The flooding was covering all the streets and almost inside our garage. My parents even said they’d never seen flooding that badly in Florida.” Many others reacted similarly to Trini and some had deeper troubles.

   According to the National Weather Service, Tropical Storm Eta had more than 13 inches of rainfall in certain areas. Many neighborhoods and urban areas weren’t able to properly move the water due to consecutive rainfall for days. The consecutive rainfall began to pile up as it had nowhere to go and caused flooding that reached some people’s knees.

   By 11 am on Monday, November 9th, there were three flash-flood emergency alert warnings sent across phones and televisions. Many individuals were stuck indoors as there were unsafe driving conditions outdoors or their cars weren’t properly equipped to drive through the high water. Senior Alexis Appio explained the scene outside her home: “I wasn’t able to drive out so I walked around to see how deep the water was. All along the road were cars stuck, smoking, and people pushing cars out of the way. It was all really weird”. Many cars became damaged due to the high waters going into their engines. Due to this, many people were trapped in their homes until the water levels went down. 

   Some communities weren’t severely flooded and water went down in a few days. However, for other communities where levels were worse, it took until Thursday or Friday to be able to safely leave. Lyndon Ochoa, a sophomore, lives in Encantada where flooding didn’t go down until late Thursday night. He stated, “Everyone in my family has low cars so we were stuck inside for a while. But, there were people with trucks who’d just drive through the floods, full speed. They were being dumb cause they’d tred water that got into low cars and people’s garages.” Along with cars getting damaged for driving through the water, water would seep into them as cars drove by. Tropical storm Eta caused many mechanical issues for drivers.

   Many South Floridians also had issues in their homes. Due to the flooding backing up the sewer systems, the pipes system in houses also became blocked. Toilets were not able to flush properly and dirty water came up in showers. Along with the pipes having issues, many people  lost power and cable due to the severe flooding. The water got into many houses’ electrical systems and carried away cable boxes exposing the wires to water.

   There were also many weird sightings across neighborhoods. From families floating on pink flamingo floats to people kayaking down the road. Along with this, some people were even spotted in boats or tubing down main streets.

   Tropical storm Eta was a first time event for many South Floridians, especially so late into the hurricane season. The next time a tropical storm is forecasted to come to Florida, Floridians might be a little more skeptical or worried of what’s to come.