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South Floridians mop up, recall fear after historic deluge

Published:Saturday | April 15, 2023 | 1:04 AM
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A man walks with a bucket on a flooded street, Friday, April 14, 2023, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. South Florida has begun draining streets and otherwise cleaning up after an unprecedented storm that dumped upward of 2 feet of rain in a matter of hours.
AP
A man walks with a bucket on a flooded street, Friday, April 14, 2023, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. South Florida has begun draining streets and otherwise cleaning up after an unprecedented storm that dumped upward of 2 feet of rain in a matter of hours.
People try and save valuables, wading through high flood waters in a Fort Lauderdale, Fla., neighborhood on Thursday, April 13, 2023. South Florida is keeping a wary eye on a forecast that calls for rain a day after nearly a foot fell in a matter of hours.
AP
People try and save valuables, wading through high flood waters in a Fort Lauderdale, Fla., neighborhood on Thursday, April 13, 2023. South Florida is keeping a wary eye on a forecast that calls for rain a day after nearly a foot fell in a matter of hours. The rains caused widespread flooding, closed the Fort Lauderdale airport and turned thoroughfares into rivers.
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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP):

The water was rising around her car, and Amanda Valentine thought she was going to die. She had just got a warning on her phone about flash flooding, and now it was all around her.

“I called my parents like, ‘I’m going to die. Like I’m going to drown. There’s no way for me to get out of this car,’” Valentine said, “And they couldn’t help me. I called 911, and they told me they couldn’t help me.”

She eventually forced the door open and got to safety.

Parts of south Florida began cleaning up Thursday after the unprecedented storm that trapped Valentine and other motorists, dumped upward of two feet (60 centimeters) of rain in a matter of hours, caused widespread flooding, closed a key airport and turned thoroughfares into rivers. There were no immediate reports of injuries or deaths.

Residents still waded through knee-high water or used canoes and kayaks to navigate the streets Thursday in Fort Lauderdale’s Edgewood neighbourhood, where window screen installer Dennis Vasquez towed some of his neighbour’s belongings on an inflatable mattress to a car on dry land. He himself lost all of his possessions when water rose chest-high in his house Wednesday night.

“Everything, it’s gone,” he said in Spanish, “But I will replace it.”

In Broward County, where rains started Monday before the heaviest rains arrived Wednesday afternoon, crews worked Thursday to clear drains and fire up pumps to clear standing water.

Fort Lauderdale issued a state of emergency as flooding persisted in parts of the city. Crews worked through the night to attend rescue calls. Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport, which closed Wednesday evening, said it would not re-open until 5 a.m. Friday because of debris and flooding.

Enough water had drained by early Thursday to allow people to drive on the upper level — or departures — road to pick up waiting passengers. But the entrance to the lower-level, or arrivals, road remained closed.

Airlines were forced to cancel or change flights to and from the airport. Southwest cancelled about 50 departures through Friday morning, and the number could grow, a spokeswoman said. The airline is letting customers rebook on flights to and from Miami and Palm Beach at no additional charge, she said.

Frontier Airlines moved two flights from Fort Lauderdale to Miami, but cancelled about 15 other round trips, a spokeswoman said. Allegiant Air also cancelled some flights and rerouted others to the Tampa, Orlando and Punta Gorda areas.

More than 650 flights were cancelled at Fort Lauderdale on Thursday, according to FlightAware.

Broward County schools initially cancelled classes Thursday, including after-school and extra-curricular activities, after water flooded hallways and classrooms at some schools.

Shawn Bhatti, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Miami, said the region received “an unprecedented amount” of rain. The weather service was still confirming totals, but some gauges showed up to 25 inches (63.5 centimeters) of rainfall.

“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.”