FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Nearly a foot of rain fell in a matter of hours in Fort Luderdale Wednesday, causing widespread flooding, closing the city’s airport and shutting down service three high speed in the Broward County region.
The City of Fort Lauderdale issued a statement Wednesday night urging residents and visitors to stay off roads until water levels have subsided.
“The Police and Fire departments continue to respond to reports,” the statement said. “Public Works personnel are clearing drains and operating pumps to mitigate the water as quickly as possible.”
The National Weather Service in Miami declared a flash flood emergency for Fort Lauderdale and other areas that will last until early Thursday because of the chance of more storms throughout the region. “This is a life-threatening situation. Head for higher ground now,” he told himself in the statement.
There were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries.
Up to 14 inches (35 centimeters) of rain had fallen across the area as of Wednesday and the National Weather Service said an additional 5 to 10 centimeters of precipitation was possible as a warm front continued to move north, raising the temperature. probability of other storms.
Hollywood Mayor Josh Levy told CNN the area has seen several days of rain. “The ground is already saturated so there is massive flooding throughout our city and in South Florida. Many roads are impassable. Numerous vehicles were stranded and abandoned in the middle of our roads,” he added.
“I have always lived here. It is the most severe flooding I have ever seen,” she added.
More than 22,000 customers in Florida were without power on Wednesday night, according to the specialized website poweroutage.us.
All Broward County public schools will be closed Thursday, the school district tweeted. “All after-school activities, events and extracurricular activities were also canceled for tomorrow.”
Incessant downpours on Wednesday caused the airport, one of the largest in the region, to suspend all inbound and outbound flights, the airport tweeted around 4:15 p.m.
Around 5 pm, the airport announced the closure of ground transportation service in response to repeated tornado warnings and heavy rain.
The main roads in and out of the airport were flooded and impassable, the airport said around 5:15 p.m.
“Please do not attempt to enter or exit the airport at this time,” he warned.
The airport is expected to remain closed until at least noon on Thursday, it added.
Heavy rains also shut down South Florida’s high-speed rail service. Brightline posted on Twitter Wednesday night that train service between Miami and Fort Lauderdale was suspended.
