Terrifying Moments as Miami Beach Elevator Floods, Trapping Residents

Surveillance footage captured the harrowing moment floodwaters surged into an elevator at a Miami Beach condo, trapping residents, including a 4-year-old child, inside.

Rick Sardana, a resident of Vendome Place Condominiums, has avoided elevators since the incident Sunday, opting instead to climb ten flights of stairs. “I’m not even uncomfortable in there—it just brings back bad memories,” he told NBC6.

The video shows Sardana taking the elevator down to check on his car when it suddenly stopped. Within moments, water started seeping in from below and above. Trapped with him were his neighbor Bruno and Bruno’s young daughter, Jordana.

As the floodwaters rose, Sardana pried the doors open with his fingers. “I knew God was giving him some extra power,” Bruno said. They escaped into waist-deep water, shaken but unharmed.

It took nearly 24 hours for the water to recede, leaving extensive damage to cars in the garage. Sardana says the experience left him with a critical takeaway:

“Never take the elevator when there’s flooding or fire. That’s my big lesson.”