Heavy rain that caused an “extremely rare” flash flood — intended for catastrophic showers — in multiple South Florida cities shut down universities, government agencies and transportation systems on Wednesday.
The National Weather Service has issued an emergency warning for parts of South Broward and North Miami-Dade counties. Four flash flood warnings remain active for various areas in the region.
In addition to a whole series of closures due to flooding, power outages also affect residents. At one point, Miami-Dade had more than 10,000 outages, while Broward had more than 1,000, according to FPL. As of 8 p.m., the state’s largest utility reported just under 300 outages in both counties.
What’s closed in Miami-Dade?
Miami-Dade’s transit system warned passengers Wednesday afternoon that the deluge was causing delays on most routes, including Metrorail and Metromover.
Eastbound and westbound transit buses have been delayed since 3:30 p.m. Additionally, Tri-Rail operations have been partially halted as the tracks between the Metrorail Transfer and Miami Central stations were shut down.
Amid the closures, Tri-Rail officials are advising commuters to take the Metrorail between these stations.
Brightline shares the same tracks with Tri-Rail, making the intercity route susceptible to similar stoppages. The Miami Herald confirmed that Brightline service between Miami and Aventura stations has been suspended due to the heavy rain. The high-speed train company operates bus services that allow passengers to travel between the two stations.
Travelers posted videos of water on the tracks on X.
As of 4:40 p.m., Miami International Airport canceled 221 flights and delayed 165 others, which is 53% of all flights at the airport Wednesday, said Greg Chin, communications director for the Miami-Dade Aviation Department.
In addition to transportation systems, Miami-Dade College and Florida International University canceled their evening classes due to the bad weather. FIU has also closed several campuses, including the one in Biscayne Bay.
What about Broward?
All Broward County libraries and some government services, such as animal care and the medical examiner’s office, are closed.
The province has not said whether buses or other public transportation have been halted.
Some major cities in Broward, including Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood, have also completely or partially closed administrative offices.
The deluge forced the closure of Interstate 95 at Griffin Road, causing hours of traffic as commuters headed into rush hour in search of alternate routes that also experienced flooding.
READ MORE: Miami and Fort Lauderdale airports face hours of delays as heavy rains flood the region
At Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, there have been 158 delays and 273 cancellations as of 6:11 p.m., according to FlightAware, a flight tracker.
Broward College announced that evening classes had been canceled and at least one campus had closed.
Miami Herald Douglas Hanks contributed to this report.
