MIAMI – Heavy rain lashed South Florida on Wednesday as officials warned residents to stay away from “life-threatening floods“in some of the state’s most populous regions.
The National Weather Service in Miami urged residents to stay indoors, stay off the roads and stay away from dangerously moving water.
Flood warnings for parts of four South Florida counties, including Miami-Dade, will continue until 8 a.m. Thursday.
TONIGHT: Area Flood Warnings issued for portions of Broward, Miami-Dade, Collier and Hendry Co. and in effect until 8 a.m. tomorrow. ⚠️
Many areas are flooded with water, stranded cars and more rain is coming. Stay off the roadway if possible. pic.twitter.com/FRNUcJldIN— NWS Miami (@NWSMiami) June 13, 2024
The downpour is making air traffic in and out of the region difficult. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport told potential travelers that its entrances and exits were flooded.
As of Wednesday evening, 284 flights to or from that airport had been canceled. At Miami International Airport, cancellations totaled 326, according to flight tracking website FlightAware.
“Started at 9:30, got bumped to 12:30, got bumped to 3:30, got bumped to 6:30. I’m going to miss all my connecting flights and I’m going to be stuck here with like a foot of rain falling,” one traveler told NBC South Florida.
The Florida Highway Patrol closed a portion of southbound Interstate 95 in Broward County on Wednesday afternoon, officials said.
First responders in Hollywood, near Fort Lauderdale, rushed to trapped motorists Wednesday afternoon.
“We are receiving calls from people trapped in vehicles that they have been driving on the flooded roadways,” city spokesperson Joann Hussey told NBC South Florida.
Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency in Broward, Collier, Lee, Miami-Dade and Sarasota counties. A declaration makes state aid possible. The cities of Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood have also issued emergency declarations.
The Miami-Dade County Department of Emergency Management told residents there: “Do not drive unless absolutely necessary and seek higher ground if necessary.” The agency said that when vehicles come to a stop, people inside should abandon them immediately to avoid being swept away.
Fort Lauderdale received more than a foot of rain late Wednesday, with 12 inches. Miami got 9.82 inches and Hollywood just over 10 inches. Pompano Beach received 9.62 inches and Fort Myers received just over 8 inches.
The hours of continuous rain have rendered the pumps almost useless as the equipment has nowhere to send the excess water.
“There is so much water that the pumps actually don’t have much space [the water] I have to go now,” Hussey said.
The downpours of early June follow the warmest May ever recorded in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Naples.
A record-breaking 8 inches of rain hit the west coast of Florida in just three hours Tuesday night.
The rain on Tuesday between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. in Sarasota was so rare that it could only be expected once every 500 to 1,000 years. The Tampa Bay area can normally expect 7.3 inches for the entire month of June.
Robert Wile and Brian Hamacher reported from Miami, David K. Li from New York City and Phil Helsel from Los Angeles.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
