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Hundreds of South Florida residents are in emergency shelters after 2 feet of rain trigger devastating flooding in Fort Lauderdale | CNN




CNN
 — 

Hundreds of Floridians were housed in emergency shelters in Fort Lauderdale late Thursday after monumental flooding wreaked havoc on the region, forcing hundreds of rescues and closing schools and government buildings as crews race to clear clogged drains and impassable roads.

Many streets turned into lakes across Fort Lauderdale Wednesday and Thursday when a historic volume of rain exceeding 2 feet inundated the South Florida coastal city.

Surrounding areas were also lashed with well above a foot of rain, leading to rapid flooding that trapped residents, made driving miserable for motorists and frustrated air travelers who could not leave the airport.

Jeremy Ennis, who said he has been working in Fort Lauderdale for about 23 years, was stuck on a city road in his car Thursday as water levels remained high.

“Never have I seen anything like this, ever,” Ennis told CNN. “I’ve never seen this volume of water, and I’ve seen (Hurricane) Katrina. I’ve seen many more hurricanes.”

The aftermath of the rare heavy rain event is expected to persist Friday while an areal flood warning in Broward County – where Fort Lauderdale is located – remains in effect through 8 a.m. ET, according to the National Weather Service office in Miami. That type of warning is usually issued for flooding that could develop more gradually, typically after prolonged and persistent moderate to heavy rainfall, the weather service explained.

Fort Lauderdale was hit with another round of rain Thursday evening that exacerbated flooding conditions, city officials said.

“Roads that were passable earlier today are flooded again. We strongly urge everyone to stay off the roads, if possible,” Fort Lauderdale city officials said.

The warning came as about 600 residents were in emergency shelter locations Thursday night, where they have access to lodging, food and other essentials.

The flooding impacts have also prompted Broward County Public Schools Friday to cancel classes for the second consecutive day.

The Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport has been shut down and will reopen Friday at 9 a.m., according to an update from the airport.

In addition to responding to hundreds of rescue calls Thursday, crews throughout the Fort Lauderdale metro area have been working to clear drains and deploy pumps where possible to help alleviate the devastating flooding impacts.

Hollywood, Florida, Mayor Josh Levy said his city saw more than a foot of rain accumulate in areas that have been experiencing consecutive days of “seemingly nonstop rain.”

“The ground was already saturated so there is extensive flooding all over our city and throughout South Florida. Many roadways are impassable. Lots of vehicles got stuck and left abandoned in the middle of our roadways.

“I’ve lived here my whole life. This is the most severe flooding that I’ve ever seen,” he said.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has issued a state of emergency for Broward County to provide additional resources to crews and residents on the ground.

Trucks and a resident on foot make their way through receding floodwaters in the Sailboat Bend neighborhood of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Thursday, April 13, 2023.

Fort Lauderdale, home to nearly 200,000 residents, saw 25.91 inches in a 24-hour period spanning Wednesday and Thursday, according to preliminary reports from the National Weather Service office in Miami.

Other surrounding areas, including Hollywood, Dania Beach and Lauderdale Lakes, collected between 12 and 18 inches of rain in the same 24-hour period, the preliminary reports show.

“This amount of rain in a 24-hour period is incredibly rare for South Florida,” said meteorologist Ana Torres-Vazquez at the weather service’s Miami forecast office.

A high-end hurricane would typically dump rainfall of 20 to 25 inches over more than a day, Torres-Vazquez said, describing the rainfall as a “1-in-1,000 year event, or greater,” meaning it’s an event so intense the chance of it happening in any given year is just 0.1%.

During the peak of Wednesday’s torrential barrages, a month’s worth of rain fell in just one hour. Fort Lauderdale’s average rainfall for April is 3 inches, and it’s been nearly 25 years since the city totaled 20 inches of rain in an entire month.

That’s why it will take time for the water to drain completely, officials said.

“Because of the extreme amount of water, most areas will need to drain naturally,” Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis said. “Crews are out in neighborhoods clearing storm drains to aid water receding from neighborhoods. Vacuum trucks are being deployed strategically throughout the city.

“There is not one area of this city that has not been impacted.”

People try and save valuables, wading through high flood waters in a Fort Lauderdale, Fla., neighborhood on Thursday, April 13, 2023.

A three-day music festival in Fort Lauderdale is slated to kick off Friday as planned, organizers said, as attendees look to find alternate routes to navigate flooded streets.

The Tortuga Music Festival will open its gates noon Friday, a festival spokesperson told CNN. The country music festival, which aims to raise funds for marine conservation efforts, will return for its tenth year.

“We look forward to a great weekend, for a great cause, and the best fans in the world to enjoy the tenth anniversary of Tortuga,” the festival spokesperson said.

Mandi-Lynn Guertin, who flew into Fort Lauderdale from Connecticut for the festival, said she had not experienced this much flooding before.

Guertin was in a rented car with her friends when the vehicle got stuck in about 3 feet of water, shut off and water quickly filled the inside. The group had to leave it on the side of the road.

“We currently can’t leave our Airbnb because the flood waters are too high and no Ubers will come out to get us,” Guertin told CNN.



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