Waist-deep water strands drivers in S. Florida
Severe storms brought up to 12 inches of rain to area
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Severe storms that slammed South Florida overnight and into Monday flooded roads, stranded and submerged cars, and completely closed Fort LauderdaleHollywood International Airport for about three hours.
Hardest hit were portions of Dania Beach, Hollywood and Hallandale Beach where a weather service observer noted a rainfall total in excess of 12 inches. Though most of the main roads through those cities are now passable, ankle to waist-high water was still present in some neighborhoods into Monday afternoon.
Emergency dispatchers for Hallandale Beach took 86 weather-related calls for service. Twenty-three people called because they were stranded in submerged vehicles.
The Hallandale Beach Police Department was working with towing companies to remove cars on the roads as well as to reach those stranded in their cars. Several traffic engineers were also out working to repair traffic signals.
As a precaution because of the slow draining, the National Weather Service in Miami extended a flood advisory for Broward and Miami-Dade counties until 5:45 p.m.
About 4 a.m., Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport tweeted that the facility was closed because of severe rain and flash flooding.
Flights resumed about 2 1/2 hours later, but traffic heading to the airport was extremely heavy and some airport services, such as shuttle buses, were continually disrupted, officials said.
Passengers were advised to check with their carriers before heading to the airport.
In an advisory about 8 a.m., the airport indicated that 123 flights were delayed and at least six canceled.
In Terminal 2, Nikki Gavallas waited in a long line at the counter for Delta Airlines with her husband and two daughters, 3 and 14 months.
“Our adventure this morning started really early. We were supposed to have a 7:30 flight to Atlanta that got delayed to 8:30 and we’ve been stuck in traffic trying to get to the airport,” Gavallas said, while trying to take it all in stride.
“But it’s OK, our kids are being great,” she said.
More than 7 inches of rain fell at the airport during the last 24 hours, according to the National Weather Service.
A notice by the city of Hollywood shortly after 4 a.m. urged drivers to avoid several parts of the city, including areas east of U.S. 1, along Park Road and on the barrier island because of hazardous flooding conditions. Motorists were urged not to drive in flooded areas.
Helicopter images broadcast by WSVN-Ch. 7 showed an area east of U.S. 1 between Hallandale Beach Boulevard and Pembroke Road where numerous vehicles were stalled in flood waters up to and beyond their engine compartments.
Additionally, portions of the track area at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach were under hip-high water.
Law enforcement agencies reported flooding in Hollywood, Dania Beach and Fort Lauderdale, the weather service said, adding that observations at the water plant in Hollywood noted that 8.8 inches of rain had fallen during the last 24 hours.
Preliminary 24-hour rain totals by the weather service tallied 7.1 inches for Fort Lauderdale’s main airport and 8.8 inches in Hollywood. The Hallandale Beach total of 12.7 inches came shortly before 5:30 a.m. from a “cooperative observer” that meteorologists use to collect wideranging, unofficial data.