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Parts of southern Florida are underwater after a severe storm dumped over a foot of rain in just a few hours. The storms dumped between 14 and 20 inches of rain across the greater Fort Lauderdale metro area, flooding streets and forcing officials to close down the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport until at least noon on Thursday (April 13).
"The roads, you can't get in or out, so there's an entire airport full of people who are just hostage here," Wendy Sachs, who was stranded at the airport after her flight to New Jersey was canceled, told NBC News.
Crews are working around the clock to rescue trapped drivers and clear the streets as officials urge people to stay home.
"Large parts of the city have been underwater because of the unprecedented amount of rainfall," Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis wrote on Facebook.
"We are asking the public to stay off the road. Some streets remain flooded, and there are various roads with broken-down cars, and tow trucks continue removing these to improve traffic flow," he added.
South Florida remains under a flash flood watch through Thursday night as more storms are in the forecast. While they are not expected to dump nearly as much rain, they could cause additional flooding.
"Showers and thunderstorms continue to expand across the central Gulf Coast and Southeast tonight, ahead of an occluded low-pressure system lifting northward out of the Gulf of Mexico. The warm front lifting northward with this low will act as a catalyst to maintain and develop thunderstorm activity across much of the Southeast today and over the Carolinas tomorrow," the National Weather Service said.