This Thursday, the multi-award-winning plastic artist from Trelew, Abel Márquez, contacted Jornada to say that he was trapped with his dog in the storm followed by a flood that, since Wednesday, has devastated the city of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA.
“600 millimeters in 12 hours. I can’t go home and I had to spend the night with Bruno (his pet) in the car because it was all flooded. Many cars stayed on the road”, recounted the artist who in 2008 received the gold medal from the American Pastel Society, in New York. He currently resides in Miami.
According to what he recounts, he tried to take shelter in a shopping center because there were three tornado warnings in the city, “but the water began to rise and rise, and we had to return to the car.”
Due to the attempted rains, the city was declared this Thursday in a state of emergency. Drivers who were stranded on the streets had to abandon their vehicles and seek refuge in higher areas, on the recommendation of the authorities. In addition, the international airport had to cancel its operations and there is no train service.
Fort Lauderdale is known as the “Venice of America” because it has a great canal system. This city is located in Broward County, in the state of Florida, United States.
