Two Teenage Brothers Rescue Mother and Son Trapped by Floodwaters Using Kayak and Paddleboard

In Florida, United States, two teenage brothers rescued a mother and her young son who were trapped inside their home by severe flooding after heavy rain. The boys reached the family using a borrowed kayak and a paddleboard. The family's three dogs were also brought to safety.

The rescue took place on Monday in Palm Bay, a city in Brevard County roughly 70 miles southeast of Orlando. Heavy rain flooded homes and streets across the area.

Brittany Grant, a Palm Bay resident, said floodwaters began pouring into her home, forcing her and her young son to climb onto the kitchen counter to escape the rising water. She called 911 but received no help.

After Grant and her son remained stranded on the counter for hours, she turned to Facebook to plead for help. Her post caught the attention of a neighbourhood mother, whose teenage sons, Lucas Marshall, 17, and Jonah Marshall, 15, set out to rescue the family using just a borrowed kayak and a paddleboard.

Jonah Marshall said he did not think twice about helping, because the family needed help and were in trouble and danger, so he just went to help them.

Lucas Marshall described the rescue as a little nerve-wracking, but said he tried to keep Grant's son calm by talking to him. He said that because they were physical and able to do it, they might as well, and he kept asking the boy his name and how school was going, telling him it was a weird day.

The stranded mother said she was extremely grateful for her neighbours' help. In her words, the community came together and saved them, and without them she does not know how they would have got out.

The flooding in Palm Bay also turned deadly on Monday, when 34-year-old Joshua Bennett died after his vehicle became trapped in rising floodwaters. His wife, Stacy Petit Bennett, said he called her on FaceTime as water surrounded his vehicle.

She said he was crying on the call, repeating that he did not know what to do.