(Fort Lauderdale) Torrential rains in Florida caused flooding Thursday in the Miami metropolis, forcing authorities to close schools and, at least until the next morning, Fort Lauderdale International Airport.
It fell more than 635 mm of water in 24 hours in Fort Lauderdale, a city of 180,000 inhabitants located north of Miami, according to the American meteorological services. A figure higher than the April 1979 record, which was 370 mm.
These torrential rains caused many traffic jams, flooded the access roads to the airport and led to several flight cancellations.
PHOTO JOE CAVARETTA, ASSOCIATED PRESS
“It’s stupid”, told the local newspaper Sun Sentinel Rob Gouley, a tourist who was to go with his wife to the Bahamas. “It’s the first time we’ve gone together with my wife since COVID-19 and that’s it…”, he regretted.
The authorities initially hoped to be able to resume air traffic on Thursday, but had to postpone the reopening of the airport until Friday to clean the runways.
Coastal areas of metropolitan Miami were still on flood alert, with soils saturated with water and further rainfall expected.