FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — As the waterline rose toward the front door of his home in Fort Lauderdale’s Edgewood community, Paul Guerrero, 58, wasn’t worried yet. He, his wife and his 31-year-old son placed towels under their doors, just in case.
But their meager effort was no match for the record-breaking downpour that drenched Fort Lauderdale Wednesday. They had seen rain like this before. They had not seen this.
On Thursday Guerrero and his family joined thousands of area residents taking stock of the damage left behind after nearly 26 inches of rain that fell in a period of less than seven hours, rain that forced stranded drivers to abandon their cars, rescuers to offer assistance from boats, and airports, courts and schools to close.
