Rain floods several South Florida apartments

PALMETTO BAY, Fla. (WSVN) -- The severe weather that crossed through Miami-Dade and Broward County Wednesday morning has forced several residents to relocate, altering their plans for Thanksgiving.

Four apartments located at 17255 SW 95th Avenue were flooded by the heavy rains. "I get up every morning at about 5:30 to get ready for school and, oh, my God, water everywhere. I couldn't believe it," said Shirley Toney. "I came in waking him up, and we started sweeping. It's a nightmare."

Firefighters cut a hole in the ceiling of the hallway to alleviate all the water that was building on the roof of the apartment building. Officials said the apartments have experienced roof problems before, and a few years ago, the roof was repaired.

Right now, the families forced out are devastated. "I feel terrible. That's the last place I wanna be. I wanna be with family in my own home," said Clayton Toney.

Florida Power and Light shut off the power at a condo in South Miami due to the rain, just hours before Thanksgiving Day. "Well, I'm not going to do anything for Thanksgiving, stay here and check up on the place," said Calixto De Los Rios.

Officials said the apartments could experience more damage if the rain continues. "If the rain returns, we could have more apartments leaking, also endangering these families should these roofs become that much softer and possibly collapse," said said Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Lieutenant Elkin Sierra.

It is unknown how long residents at the South Miami condo will be without power and forecasters predict a 50 percent chance of rain Thursday.

(Copyright 2009 by Sunbeam Television Corp. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)