Florida Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency as cleanup work began in Fort Lauderdale after devastating storms caused mass flooding, including at a local airport that had to cancel flights.
The storms dumped two feet of rain in a matter of hours and left travelers stranded until at least 5 a.m. Friday and residents calling for help.
DeSantis’ Emergency This comes 24 hours after officials in Fort Lauderdale issued a similar announcement that flooding would continue in parts of the city.
“I have declared a state of emergency in Broward County in response to severe flooding,” Governor DeSantis said on Twitter Thursday. Residents of these areas must follow all orders of local officials and stay away from flood waters.
Drone footage from the city shows the extent of the flooding, including abandoned cars in the middle of the street and others underwater.
South Florida is starting to clean up after it was hit by storms that battered the Fort Lauderdale area, including a local airport that had to cancel flights.
Fort Lauderdale officials issued a state of emergency on Wednesday as flooding continued in parts of the city
A man rows in a flooded neighborhood after heavy rain in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
People are trying to salvage valuables, wading through high flood waters in Fort Lauderdale
Storms dumped two feet of rain in a matter of hours and left travelers stranded until at least 5 a.m. Friday and residents plead for help.
The situation was so dire Wednesday through Thursday that all classes and school related activities within the Broward County School District were canceled Thursday.
The closures come as the National Weather Service predicted more, 2 to 4 inches of rain, from Thursday through Friday.
However, the Bright Line, a high-speed commuter rail in the area, has been restored after it was closed on Wednesday night.
A woman who was driving when she received a flash flood warning told the Associated Press of her experience of the scary situation.
The water started to rise. “I thought I was going to drown,” Valentine said, adding that she was terrified when she couldn’t open her car door or open the windows.
‘Nothing was working.’ All the lights in my car were on, so nothing was working. And I thought, “I’m going to drown,” she said.
“I called my parents like, ‘I’m going to die.'” Like I’m going to drown. There is no way for me to get out of this car. And they couldn’t help me. I called 911 and they told me they couldn’t help me, the woman continued.
In the end, I forcibly opened the door and made it to safety.
Drone footage from the downtown area shows cars trapped in several feet of water surrounded by other vehicles and stranded businesses.
Truck driver Keith Hickman said he saw abandoned cars “floating like boats” on the streets of Fort Lauderdale.
“There were hundreds of cars up and down here,” Hickman said.
‘It was incredible.’ I’ve never seen cars crash into each other and float. And the truck would come and the waking up would push the cars into the other cars and they were just floating. ‘I’ve never seen anything like this,’ said the truck driver.
The closures come as the National Weather Service predicted more, 2 to 4 inches of rain, from Thursday through Friday.
Planes stand on the runway due to flooding at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport Thursday
Residents row and walk along a flooded road on Thursday
A man walks with his children in a flooded neighborhood after heavy rain in Fort Lauderdale
Frontier aircraft remains on the ground as flooding continues at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport
In this drone photo, trucks and a resident on foot make their way through receding floodwaters in the Sailboat Bend neighborhood of Fort Lauderdale.
A truck drives on the flooded runway at Fort Lauderdale – Hollywood International Airport, Thursday, April 13, 2023, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Passengers wait for flights to resume after the closure of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Thursday, April 13, 2023, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
In Broward County, where it started to rain Monday before a downpour arrived Wednesday afternoon, crews worked Thursday to clear drains and fire up pumps to clean up standing water.
Officials said the Red Cross has set up a staging area to help residents whose homes have been flooded with blankets and coffee.
In Fort Lauderdale’s Cistrunk neighborhood, parked cars, including Jose Heredia’s BMW sedan, dotted the flooded streets. Heredia, a legal assistant, was heading to work Thursday morning when he got stuck.
I didn’t think it was that bad. It has never been this bad; “I’ve never seen it this far,” Heredia said. A tow truck company said he faced a wait of five hours or more.
He said, “It’s a bad day.” “I should have stayed home.”
Nearby, 74-year-old Bobbie Ponder lifted her dress to push her bike the last block to Ray´s Market to get a money order for her internet bill, and found it flooded and locked.
Sacks of chips and Cheetos floated in a foot of water as workers tried to clean up.
Ponder, who lives in a third-floor apartment, said she didn’t think the flood would be this bad until she tried to ride her bike. She was trying to keep the flood straight, comparing it to him Hurricanes that have struck other states recentlykilling dozens of people.
“We’re lucky — a lot of them died,” she said.
Passengers wait for flights to resume after Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport was closed due to flooding
Bahamas-bound travelers await flights to resume after the closure of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Thursday
A woman wades through high floodwaters in a Fort Lauderdale neighborhood on Thursday
Fort Lauderdale City Hall remained closed Thursday due to ground floor flooding and power outages. A tunnel carrying US Route 1 under a river and a major street in downtown Fort Lauderdale has also been closed, along with some ramps leading to Interstate 95.
At the airport, enough water was drained early Thursday to allow people to drive upstairs — or the departures way — to pick up waiting passengers. But the lowest floor entrance, or access way, remained closed, officials said chirp.
Sean Bhatti, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Miami, said the area received an “unprecedented amount” of rain. The weather service was still confirming totals, but some gauges showed up to 25 inches (63.5 cm) of rain.
“For context, within a six-hour period, the amount that went down is a probability of one in 1,000 within a given year,” Bhatti said. “So it’s a very historical kind of event.”
