Waterspout Lifts Bounce House into Air on Fort Lauderdale Beach; Children Inside Injured

A bounce house with children inside was lifted about 20 feet up into the air by a waterspout that hit Fort Lauderdale Beach on Memorial Day. According to Fort Lauderdale Police, the bounce house had three children inside. All three children were taken to Broward Health Medical Center Monday afternoon. Two of the children were treated for minor injuries and released. The third is listed in stable condition and will be held overnight for observation, police say.

The waterspout apparently came on shore off the water rather unexpectedly, sending beach goers on the beach located at 800 Seabreeze Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale Beach scattering. 

In a video shot by a bystander and posted on Facebook, the spout blows debris into the air before it hits a couple of bounce houses sitting by the basketball courts. One of the bounce houses is flung about and then carried about twenty feet into the air before it blows away. It's unclear if the bounce house was tethered to the ground. 

The video shows beach goers screaming as they helplessly watch the bounce house take flight, and you can hear at least one person shouting, "There's kids in there!"


The bounce house flew across four lanes of traffic across A1A and came down about a hundred feet away in a parking lot. Fort Lauderdale Police say the three children were ejected from the bounce house onto the beach before it flew across A1A.

The identity of the children will not be released, and no vehicles or other pedestrians were struck by the bounce house. No other injuries were reported.