Fort Lauderdale Declares State of Emergency, Airport Closed Down
Fort Lauderdale declared a state of emergency on Thursday after a deluge of rain flooded a number of roads and shut down a major airport.
“Flooding conditions remain impactful in the southern areas of the City this morning. An active emergency declaration is in effect,” said the City of Fort Lauderdale on its website. “Emergency Management crews worked continuously through the night to attend rescue calls.”
It did not say when the state of emergency would end.
In a 10:30 a.m. update, the city said that “many roads across the City are still impassable due to flooding” and urged people to “avoid driving” when possible. “Crews are out in neighborhoods clearing storm drains to aid water receding from neighborhoods. Vacuum trucks are being deployed strategically throughout the City. However, because of the extreme amount of water, most areas will need to drain naturally,” the update said….