“Crews are out in neighborhoods clearing storm drains to aid water receding from neighborhoods. “Because of the extreme amount of water, most areas will need to drain naturally,” Trantalis said. That’s why it will take time for the water to drain completely, officials said. 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. “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.įirst Atlantic hurricane season forecast issued on the same day as El Niño watchĪ 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%.ĭuring the peak of Wednesday’s torrential barrages, a month’s worth of rain fell in just one hour. 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.

The deepest standing water surveyed Thursday was in the Edgewood neighborhood just north of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, where a still water mark of just over 3 feet was measured near Floyd Hull Stadium, according to the weather service in Miami. Rebecca Blackwell/APįort Lauderdale, home to nearly 200,000 residents, saw 25.91 inches of precipitation in a 24-hour period spanning Wednesday and Thursday, according to preliminary reports from the National Weather Service office in Miami.

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. The flooding impacts also prompted Broward County Public Schools Friday to cancel classes for the second consecutive day. Roughly 600 others came through a family reunification center to receive food and water, Johnson said. “We had a headcount of 32 people in shelters on Thursday night,” said Amelia Johnson, a spokeswoman for the Florida Division of Emergency Management. “We have crews on the ground that are out there meeting those needs one by one and bringing them to a point where we get them some food, some water” and transported to a shelter, he added. Just individuals that become overwhelmed with what has taken place and need assistance to escape flooded areas or homes,” Gollan said. “There’s really, at this point, no life safety issues that are out there. “What we’re seeing is individuals in need of assistance,” said Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Stephen Gollan. 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. The flooding shut down the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport for about 40 hours. Kevin Guthrie, director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, said, “This is the second most catastrophic flooding event that I’ve seen in my tenure as emergency manager … over the last 33 years,” surpassed only by Hurricane Ian. “They are OK,” the mayor added.Īs floodwaters receded Friday, first responders are still conducting wellness checks and assisting residents in need of shelter. There was a report of two firefighters sustaining minor injuries after they were shocked by an electrical wire. “Thankfully there have been no deaths recorded,” Trantalis said during a Friday afternoon joint news briefing. Many of Fort Lauderdale’s streets turned into lakes when rain exceeding 2 feet inundated the coastal city.įort Lauderdale Fire Rescue crews on Thursday handled “another 250 calls for help on top of the 900” calls received during flooding the day before, according to Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis. Fort Lauderdale and other communities across southeast Florida are working to get life back to normal after monumental flooding wreaked havoc on the area, closing transportation hubs, schools and government offices.ĭuring the peak of Wednesday’s torrential barrages, a month’s worth of rain fell in just one hour.

Beautiful rainfall images