Fort Lauderdale

Severe Weather Overturns Boats in Fort Lauderdale

One person was taken to the hospital and several people were rescued from the water after severe weather caused two boats to overturn in Fort Lauderdale Tuesday morning.

The incident happened during severe weather in Broward County near 1311 East Lake Drive in Fort Lauderdale.

Neighbors said it looked like a hurricane was coming through, as wind gusts of nearly 60 mph were felt in the area.

A camera at Sandra Molocznik's waterfront home caught the storm on tape. Her patio chairs were tossed and lights on her deck were busted off. The video shows a boat in the water being tossed around. Inside that boat were Jim Harmon and Terry Hoyce.

"We were scampering. We were jumping around, trying to do the best we could with what we had, slipping and sliding. The boat healed pretty good when the first blast came through," Harmon said.

Their boat slammed up against someone's dock. The anchor couldn't keep them in one spot. It was a quick storm, but one Harmon said he's never seen.

"I've been in water spouts before and never been nerved, but this was different," he explained.

While they were trying to save their boat, two near them went down. Aerial footage showed one boat sunk and a catamaran flipped over. There were people inside.

Help quickly arrived to the scene, thanks to Molocznik, who saw the whole thing, "I stayed inside the home and said, 'Okay, call 911,' cause there was people in the water."

Fort Lauderdale Fire crews said there was a man stuck inside the catamaran when it flipped. Somehow, he was able to find his way out and swim up to the surface.

Everyone was pulled from the water and one person was taken to the hospital as a precaution.

Later in the day, a tow boat was working to retrieve the sunken boat. As for the flipped catamaran, crews will be back out Wednesday morning.

Contact Us