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Preliminary reports showed that about 25 inches (64 cm) of rain
had fallen in Fort Lauderdale, making it a 1 in a 1,000-year
weather event, the National Weather Service (NWS) said.
"It's extremely rare. That is an astronomical amount of
rainfall," Miami NWS meteorologist Shawn Bhatti said.
Some 2 million people in Broward County were under a flood
warning as relentless rain drenched the area. Parts of Florida's
Atlantic Coast north of Miami have already seen 20 inches (51
cm) of rain over the last several days, the NWS said.
No injuries or deaths have been reported.
Video footage on social media showed sheets of rain pounding the
area as flood waters reached the tops of cars, and people wading
through waters. In one video, a person swam in waters that had
flooded a roadway.
"This thing has been parked for hours," meteorologist Alex
Lamers said on Twitter on Wednesday night, referring to the
storm system pumping rain into the region. "Like putting a
faucet right over Fort Lauderdale, turning it on, and walking
away."
Emergency management crews answered rescue calls overnight, the
city of Fort Lauderdale said on its website early on Thursday,
noting that there were flood conditions throughout the area.
The growing frequency and intensity of such storms amid bouts of
prolonged drought across the nation are symptomatic of
human-driven climate change, experts say.
Runways were flooded at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood
International Airport, which was expected to be closed until
midday on Thursday. Nearly 400 inbound and outbound flights were
canceled, according to the Flightaware tracking site.
The heavy rains and flooding also forced Broward County Public
Schools, serving some 250,000 students, to cancel classes on
Thursday.
(Reporting by Brendan O'Brien; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
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