Paddleboarders and kayakers rescue family trapped in Palm Bay home

Brittany Grant and her son Nikoa Pastorius escaped a submerged house in Palm Bay on Monday after strangers responded to a social media plea. The family was stranded on a kitchen counter with three dogs while floodwater filled the interior of the home near California Avenue. Grant posted a video of the rising water after failing to reach emergency dispatchers.

Grant reported that water levels reached approximately two feet above her knees, cutting off all exit routes. She described the flow outside the home as resembling a river. After three failed attempts to contact 911, she turned to Facebook for assistance. Strangers, including individuals in a kayak and on a paddleboard, answered the call.

The rescue team arrived after a neighbor’s mother saw the online post. A couple in a raised truck also offered help and waited at the end of the driveway while the boarders reached the house. Grant thanked the rescuers in video footage, noting that the community’s response saved them. The family is now staying with a friend.

Nikoa Pastorius said the experience heightened his anxiety and stress while waiting inside. He described the event as frightening but expressed relief at getting out. The young boy and his mother escaped with their three dogs, leaving the flooded home behind.

The incident occurred during widespread flooding across Brevard County that forced evacuations and closed roads. The Florida governor declared a state of emergency as conditions remained dangerous heading into Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Brevard Public Schools closed for another day, and officials moved some polling locations due to water on the streets.

Grant, who has lived in the neighborhood for eight years, said she had never seen flooding of this magnitude before. Utility crews from Florida Power & Light were positioned nearby, but water continued to cover several streets. Officials indicated that restoration efforts in the hardest-hit areas could take several days to complete.