DANIA BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - Dania Beach residents who were forced out of their homes because of a bad water leak have returned home.
A major rooftop pool problem forced more than 200 people out of their homes during the weekend, and they are finally being allowed to return home, Monday.
Tyler Terens walked down the hallway to his apartment for the first time since a pipe burst under the rooftop pool, Friday night.
The leak sent thousands of gallons of water rushing through the walls of the building.
Terens was not home at the time of the leak but returned home to a massive scene.
“There was obviously like 10 fire trucks,” said Terens. “About 27 police cars were here, so I knew something was wrong.”
When he went upstairs to his apartment, he said the mess was impossible to miss.
“When we got let onto our floor, the entire rug was just sopping wet,” said Terens. “I mean, it just looked like someone had just doused the whole thing with water.”
Cellphone video showed water pouring down the elevator door and standing water in the hallway.
Fortunately for Terens, his personal belongings were mostly OK.
Others were not as lucky.
“The water is clear into the living room and standing water,” said one resident. “My rug that’s in there is going to be trashed.”
Residents have placed blowers in the hallway and giant dehumidifiers in their bedrooms and bathrooms.
7SkyForce showed a now empty pool on the roof of the building.
The broken pipe and subsequent rush of water forced the evacuation of hundreds of residents.
“It was unexpected because the sirens started going on, and we were like, ‘What’s going on?'” said one resident. “We thought it was a fire at first.”
“Then the firefighters said, ‘We don’t know if it’s going to be a day, a week or a month,” said Terens.
The Dania Beach mayor said city inspectors were made available over the weekend to check out the repairs and make sure the building was safe before residents were able to move back in.
“I thought it was going to be the whole week, but I’m very, very thankful to God that we can come back,” said O.J. Nduka, a resident.
While residents work to get back to normal, they are not sure how much longer they will be calling the Place at Dania Beach home.
“Like, what do you do now? What do you do next? Do you move? Do you stay?” said Terens. “They’re trying to keep us here, but we’re like, ‘Do we really want to stay?’ They say everything’s going to be OK, but do we really know if it’s going to be OK?”
Residents have expressed their intentions of finding new places to live.
“I don’t know if I’m going to renew my lease,” said Terens. “Maybe the fact that the pool doesn’t have any water left in it, I’d love for my rent to be knocked down, but there’s a possibility that I might be looking to find a new place to live.”
The management company of the building has not made any comments.
It is unclear how much longer the cleanup process will take.
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