Thursday's unprecedented downpour in South Florida left one of the busiest airports there largely underwater, creating a nightmare for travelers.
After a localized series of severe storms soaked the city and flooded the airport, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL), the second busiest airport in the region after Miami International Airport (MIA), is still closed at least until 5 a.m. on Friday.
The National Weather Service predicted that South Florida would have more rain on Thursday, increasing the likelihood of more flooding. This would cause extra issues for the airport.
A flood warning is in effect for Fort Lauderdale until 4 p.m.
In Fort Lauderdale, it rained more than 25 inches on Wednesday. FLL's surroundings, including the nearby roadways, were submerged in water, causing the airport to close.
The Fort Lauderdale airport's upper-level lanes were restored at roughly two in the morning, enabling loved ones to pick up delayed travelers. Early on Thursday, the lower-level roads were still blocked.
The Fort Lauderdale airport tweeted a warning to users not to enter or exit the property because the roadways were "impassable."
Airlines were in a rush to provide clients with waivers and alternate flights after the closure. Flight tracking website FlightAware reports that as of Thursday morning, 48% of flights leaving Fort Lauderdale were canceled.
Greg Land, a resident of Fort Lauderdale who was scheduled to fly from FLL to Seattle for a business trip, described his terrifying experience on Wednesday at the airport, where he was left stranded for 14 hours before deciding to walk two miles toward the airport's entrance, which was elevated and did not flood, to find a ride back home from U.S. Highway 1.
No one was allowed into FLL for the majority of Wednesday due to how severe the floods were.
Land admitted, "I was pretty frustrated at this time. "So that's when I started looking at maps to see if there was a path I could walk out on," the speaker said.
Land claimed that he and about 60 other people were waiting for transportation home on the side of the road. Land was eventually picked up off the highway by his husband and his neighbor next door, and he did not return home until 3 a.m.
"Families with babies in strollers who had run out of diapers or run out of formula and were just desperate to get somewhere, and people with little kids — they were standing on the side of the highway because they wouldn't let anybody into the airport," he claimed.
Fort Lauderdale declared a local state of emergency on Thursday as a result of the heavy storms. According to CBS News, the city is currently utilizing airboats and high-clearance buggies to rescue stranded individuals and pets from inundated homes.
The majority of the flooding occurred in Fort Lauderdale, whereas neighboring airports in Miami and West Palm Beach did not experience the same severe weather. The lack of significant flight cancellations on Thursday may have provided some backup alternatives for rescheduling flights for travelers stuck in Fort Lauderdale.
Land claimed that his time at FLL was insignificant in comparison to the extensive flooding he witnessed while traveling back to his house.
It was but a drop in the ocean, he claimed. The town as a whole was a wreck, I mean.
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