King Tide Flood Damage Repair in Fort Lauderdale

Updated October 29, 2026

What happened in Fort Lauderdale

The king tide peaked on Tuesday, October 27, 2026. Both Fort Lauderdale and Miami measured about 2.5 feet of water above high tide, which the National Weather Service classifies as major flooding. The Port Everglades tide gauge broke the record it had set only a month earlier, in September.

On Monday night, October 26, high water covered parts of Riviera Isle Drive south of Las Olas Boulevard, and earlier that day several cars stalled in it. On Tuesday the city closed the Las Olas Bridge because of flooding on both sides. A homeowner in Hendricks and Venice Isles who bought in 2006 told reporters it was only the second time he had seen the water that high.

By Wednesday, October 28, Dr. Nancy Gassman, the city's resident king tide expert, said the water was running 6 inches higher than previous king tides and reaching new spots, including the Himarshee district near downtown and Mayan Drive near the beach. A resident south of Sunrise Boulevard could not walk out her front door, and water surrounded the Church by the Sea.

The city was clear that it could not pump the water out. Tidal flooding comes in through the waterways, the drainage system and over the seawalls, and when the ocean is that high the stormwater pumps have nowhere to send it until the tide drops.

Water in the house right now?

The EPA says wet drywall, baseboards and flooring should be dried within 24 to 48 hours to prevent mold. Call us. We come look, take moisture readings and tell you what has to go.

Call (786) 363-7039

Reported flooding spots

Las Olas Isles (Riviera Isle Drive)
Water over the road south of Las Olas Blvd on Oct 26, cars stalled.
Hendricks and Venice Isles
Residents walked home through floodwater from the Las Olas Bridge on Oct 27.
Las Olas Blvd at the Intracoastal bridge
Bridge closed by the city on Oct 27 for flooding on both sides.
SE 25th Ave and SE 5th St
Street flooding photographed on Oct 26.
Himarshee district
Named by the city as a new spot reached by this tide.
Mayan Drive and Church by the Sea
New flooding near the beach, water around the church on Oct 28.
East Fort Lauderdale south of Sunrise Blvd
A resident could not walk out her front door on Oct 28.

Why Fort Lauderdale floods on a king tide

Fort Lauderdale is low and laced with canals. Most of the isles off Las Olas sit only a few feet above sea level with water on three sides, so a high tide pushed by onshore wind comes over seawalls and up through storm drains at the same time. The city has raised miles of seawalls and installed tidal valves to stop backflow, but this tide still reached spots the city says had not flooded before.

Saltwater in the house: what has to come out

King tide water is not clean seawater. It comes up through storm drains, canals and sewer lines before it reaches your house, and the restoration industry classes it as Category 3, the most contaminated kind. That is why drying alone is not enough.

Drywall: water wicks up the paper and gypsum well above where it stood. It gets cut out above the wet line, often at 2 feet off the floor.
Baseboards and insulation: MDF swells and insulation holds the salt. Both go.
Cabinets: particle board bases in kitchens and bathrooms soak water up from the bottom and do not recover.
Floors: tile on a concrete slab usually survives with cleaning. Laminate, wood and carpet rarely do.
Salt: salt left behind keeps pulling in moisture. Surfaces get rinsed with fresh water before drying.

How we repair it in Fort Lauderdale

Walkthrough. We find where the water came in and how high it wicked. You get photos and a written scope for your flood policy.
Water out and tear-out. We remove carpet, baseboards, insulation and the wet lower drywall.
Rinse and dry. We get the salt off and dry the room with air movers and dehumidifiers before anything gets closed up.
Rebuild. Drywall, paint, tile, baseboards, cabinets, bathrooms and kitchens. If water reached electrical or plumbing, we bring in the right trade for that part.

Before the next king tide

The City of Fort Lauderdale lists these remaining 2026 king tide windows:

November 5 to 11
November 22 to 28
December 24 to 25

Before the next window, check that your seawall cap and any drain or backflow valve on your property are clear, move cars to higher ground before peak tide, and keep anything you care about off the floor of the garage. The city takes reports of impassable roads at 954-828-8000 or in the FixIt FTL app.

Fort Lauderdale king tide questions

Water came into my house in Las Olas Isles. What do I do first?

Start with safety. If the water reached outlets, the AC air handler or anything plugged in, turn off that circuit at the panel and have an electrician look before you turn it back on. Then document. Photograph every room, the line the water left on the walls and doors, and the outside of the house showing the street. Call your flood carrier and get a claim number. After that, the clock is about moisture. Pull up wet rugs, get furniture off the floor, and open the house up if the air outside is drier than inside. Do not start painting or patching. Drywall usually wicks water well above where it stood, especially behind vanities and kitchen base cabinets, so the tear-out tends to go higher than people expect. Call us at (786) 363-7039 and we will walk the house and tell you what has to come out.

My street flooded but the water never came inside. Should I still worry?

Check three places. First, the garage. Garages in Fort Lauderdale often sit a step lower than the house, and saltwater that sat on the slab can soak the bottom of the drywall on the shared wall with the house, plus anything stored on the floor. Second, the exterior. Saltwater sitting against stucco, wood trim, door frames and the bottom of garage doors speeds up corrosion and rot, and on older homes it gets into cracks at the base of the wall. Rinse those areas with fresh water from a hose. Third, the ground level of a pool deck or patio with pavers, where salt can loosen the sand base. If you see bubbling paint at the bottom of a wall, a musty smell in the garage, or swelling at the base of a door frame in the next few weeks, that is the salt and moisture coming out, and it is worth a look before it spreads.

Can I wait until king tide season is over to fix the damage?

You can wait on the rebuild, but not on the tear-out and drying. Wet drywall, insulation and baseboards have to come out and the room has to be dried now, or you are looking at mold within days in this climate, and that turns a repair into a much bigger job. The rebuild is different. The City of Fort Lauderdale lists more king tide windows on November 5 to 11, November 22 to 28 and December 24 to 25. If your house took water this time, it can take it again. A sensible plan is to dry it out now, then rebuild with materials that handle water better in the lowest part of the room: tile or a waterproof floor instead of wood, PVC or composite baseboards instead of MDF, and cabinet bases that are not particle board. We can phase the job around those dates so you are not left with open walls during a tide.