MIAMI — Heavy rain pounded South Florida on Wednesday, leading officials to warn residents to avoid “life-threatening flooding” in some of the state’s most populous areas.
The National Weather Service in Miami urged residents to stay indoors and away from roads and dangerous waterways.
Heavy rains have caused disruptions to air travel in the region, with Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport telling travelers its entrances were flooded, and the rain caused dozens of flights to be delayed or canceled on Wednesday. It continued to fall.
The Florida Highway Patrol closed a portion of southbound Interstate 95 in Broward County Wednesday afternoon, according to authorities.
In the Fort Lauderdale suburb of Hollywood, emergency workers raced to the driver of a trapped car late Wednesday afternoon.
“We’re receiving calls from people who have been driving through flooded roadways and are now trapped in their vehicles,” city spokeswoman Joan Hussey told NBC South Florida.
Hours of rain have rendered the pumps nearly useless as they have nowhere to send the excess water.
“There’s just so much water, there’s barely any space to pump it to at the moment,” Hussey said.
Heavy rains in early June Warmest May on Record Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Naples.
Wednesday’s rains followed Tuesday night’s flooding when Florida’s west coast was hit with a record-breaking eight inches of rain in just three hours.
The rainfall that fell in Sarasota between 5pm and 8pm on Tuesday is highly unusual and is expected to occur only once every 500 to 1,000 years. The Tampa Bay area typically expects 7.3 inches of rainfall for the entire month of June.
Robert Weil and Brian Hammercker reported from Miami and David K. Lee from New York City.
