Airport Shut Down After “State Of Emergency” Declared

After heavy rains flooded roads and Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport, a state of emergency was declared by the city, according to a report from The Epoch Times. On its website, the city stated that “Emergency Management Crews” are working endlessly through the night on rescue missions. 

Efforts to clean the city and drain the water were also underway, the city updated. But because the amount of water was so high, most would be to be drained naturally. Last week, more than 26 inches of rain precipitated in the city, according to the U.S. National Weather Service. The rainfall was considered an “unprecedented event” by Shawn Bhatti, a Miami meteorologist with the service. 

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“For context, within a six-hour period, the amount that fell is about a 1 in 1,000 chance of happening within a given year,” Bhatti said. “So it’s a very historical type of event.”

Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis reiterated that this was a “1,000-year storm” and asked residents to remain patient. Dania Beach and Broward County set new records of rainfall, breaking the old record of 14.5 inches of rain in 1979. 

There were no reports of any deaths during the event, but authorities say that 600 people were rescued and 38 were taken to shelters. Broward County Public Schools joined the list of closures, although Miami-Dade schools stayed open. 

Cars were stranded on roads and tow trucks continued to remove them from the roads, the emergency declaration read. One resident in Fort Lauderdale said that it has not been a fun time. She said that as the rain came down it began to flood her house, adding that cars and trucks speeding by outside only pushed more water into her home. She claimed that she had to put up a sign that read, “Slow down.”