2022 Australian floods. Woken up pre-dawn by a car alarm set off by rising flood waters. Thankfully I had the foresight to park up on the street, which was a higher level, because water was more than half way up the height of the wheels by then in my garage.
All the proper roads out of the area were flooded already before I left, but thankfully I could get out by driving through pedestrian areas of the university I live near.
That was a very anxiety-ridden day as I waited until I could go back to assess the damage. Luckily the water only reached about 3/4 the height of the garage, which is below the 1st floor apartments. My apartment is at the top of a very small (like 5 m vertical) hill, just enough that we got off safe when neighbours did far, far worse.
For any Americans, the 1st floor in Australia (and many other countries) is equivalent to the second floor in America (hence it being above the garage)
I hate that convention. No, I was using the first floor in the American way…sort of.
The apartment is on the side of the hill. The lowest level on which apartments are placed is at ground level at the front, but one storey up at the back.
Pretty common in hilly areas in my country and especially my state. For my house, you have to climb about fifteen stairs to go in the front door and the back door is ground level. It's a small one storey house.