Storms bring record rainfall to Fort Lauderdale, trapping motorists and shutting airport
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A flooded street in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on April 12, as seen in a screen grab obtained from social media.
PHOTOS: REUTERS
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FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida – Thunderstorms that pummelled Fort Lauderdale and other parts of south-eastern Florida with up to 60cm of rain were expected to pick up again on Thursday, after the storms trapped motorists in flood waters and left travellers stranded inside a shuttered international airport.
Storms are a way of life in South Florida, but more than 63cm of rain fell at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport over a 24-hour period, according to a preliminary estimate released by the National Weather Service. The airport closed early on Wednesday evening and was expected to fully reopen at noon on Thursday.
If confirmed, the rainfall total would smash Fort Lauderdale’s one-day record of 37cm, which was set on April 25, 1979. The city, which lies in Broward County on Florida’s Atlantic coast, is one of the largest in the state.
The closures, flooding and bad weather combined to cause hours-long traffic jams.
“I’ve lived here my entire life,” said Ms Dawn Grayson, 49, who sat in traffic for four hours after arriving at the airport to learn that her flight to Las Vegas had been cancelled. “I’ve never seen anything like that happen before.”
The skies over Fort Lauderdale eventually cleared, and there were no immediate reports of injuries. But for a few hours overnight, the Fort Lauderdale area was under a rare flash flood emergency – an alert reserved for situations where torrents of water pose a severe threat to human life and can cause catastrophic damage.
The additional rainfall expected on Thursday would fall on ground that is already saturated, raising the possibility of further localised flooding, the weather service said.
A flood warning for parts of Broward County and other areas of South Florida was scheduled to remain in effect until noon.
Other parts of South Florida were under a flood watch, indicating a lower level of risk, until Thursday evening. City facilities in Fort Lauderdale will not reopen until Friday. NYTIMES
