Des pluies historiques dans le sud de la Floride causent des inondations graves, fermant les écoles et l’aéroport de Fort Lauderdale | CNN

Fort Lauderdale and parts of South Florida have been hit by a 1-in-1,000 year rainfall event, leading to a flash flood emergency in Broward County. The National Weather Service has warned that more rain is expected, which will create additional flooding. Broward County is under a flood warning through 8 a.m. ET. Between 14 and 20 inches of rain have drenched the greater Fort Lauderdale metro area since Wednesday afternoon. The deluge is the most severe flooding that some officials have ever seen.

The rainfall is described as a 1-in-1,000 year event, meaning it’s an event so intense that the chance of it happening in any given year is just 0.1%. Even though the heavy rain has concluded, numerous roads remain closed, and flooding is expected to persist. Fort Lauderdale officials have activated its emergency operations center and will be issuing a proclamation of a local state of emergency. The city’s system is designed to take on at least 3 inches of rain in a 24-hour period, but they’ve had neighborhoods receive more than 12 inches of rain.

Residents have been asked to avoid driving or traveling in Fort Lauderdale amid the storms. The flooding impacted rush hour traffic Wednesday and led to the closure of a tunnel. The Broward Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Wednesday it is being inundated with non-emergency 911 calls regarding the inclement weather and asks residents to use 911 only for true emergencies. Some local services are shuttering Thursday. The Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport is closed due to ongoing flooding in the vicinity and will reopen at noon.

Keywords: Fort Lauderdale, South Florida, flash flood, emergency, rainfall, flooding, Broward County, National Weather Service, severe flooding, emergency operations center, state of emergency, rush hour traffic, closure, tunnel, non-emergency 911 calls, local services, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.