South Florida residents told to steer clear of ‘life-threatening’ flooding

MIAMI — Torrential rains pounded South Florida on Wednesday as officials warned residents to steer clear of “life threatening flooding” in some of the state’s most populous regions.

The National Weather Service in Miami urged residents to stay indoors, off the roads and away from dangerous moving waters.

The downpour is complicating air travel in and out of the region. The Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport told would-be travelers that its entrances and exits are flooded. And dozens of departures were delayed or canceled Wednesday as rain continued to fall.

The Florida Highway Patrol on Wednesday afternoon shut down a portion of southbound Interstate 95 in Broward County, officials said.

First responders in Hollywood, near Fort Lauderdale, rushed to trapped motorists late Wednesday afternoon.

“We are receiving calls of some people who are stuck in vehicles, they’ve driven in the flooded roads,” city spokesperson Joann Hussey told NBC South Florida.

Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean J. Trantalis signed an emergency declaration for the city of 182,000 due to flooding. He told residents to stay off roads and said the state has pledged to help, including sending boats.

As of late Wednesday afternoon, cities and locales across the region have recorded more than a half-foot of rain over the past 48 hours: 11.28 inches at Fort Lauderdale airport, 7.49 at Miami International Airport, 8 in Fort Myers, and 7.74 in Sarasota.

The hours of continuous rain have nearly rendered pumps useless because the equipment has nowhere to send the excess water.

“There is so much water that the pumps really don’t have a lot places for it (the water) to go right now,” Hussey said.

The early June downpours follow the warmest May on record in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Naples.

The rain Wednesday followed a waterlogged Tuesday night in which Florida’s west coast was hit by a record-breaking 8 inches of rain in just three hours.

So rare was Tuesday’s rain between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. in Sarasota that it should only be expected every 500 to 1,000 years. The Tampa Bay area can normally expect 7.3 inches in the entire month of June.

Robert Wile and Brian Hamacher reported from Miami and David K. Li from New York City.