Palm Bay homeowner forced to swim to safety after floodwaters destroy road, inundate home

Ty Hayes was home with his family Monday morning when he heard what sounded like an explosion.A nearby canal had overflowed, sending water rushing through the neighborhood and causing part of Fallon Boulevard in Palm Bay to collapse.Within moments, floodwaters were pouring into Hayes’ home. The water eventually reached his waist, forcing him to make a split-second decision: Get his family to safety.For Hayes, that meant swimming.“When the canal collapsed and it broke through the gate, it sounded like a bomb went off or something,” Hayes said.The flooding left a path of destruction in the neighborhood, washing away part of the road and sending Hayes’ vehicles into a sinkhole. One of the cars was left overturned.Hayes said he has lived through multiple hurricanes, but nothing prepared him for this kind of devastation.“It’s just really devastating, man, because I’ve already been going through so much,” Hayes said. “Now, just to add this on top of it, it’s just overwhelming.”[RELATED: Here