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After unusual flood emergency, Florida prepares for more downpours

Matthew Koziol, Matías Ricci, Manuel Ricci and Raúl Fernández travel by raft through a street flooded by heavy rain on North Bay Road in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida, on Wednesday, June 12, 2024

A tropical disturbance has caused a rare flash flooding emergency across much of South Florida, as residents braced for more heavy rain on Thursday and Friday.

Wednesday’s downpours and subsequent flooding blocked roads, floated vehicles and delayed the Florida Panthers’ trip to play the Stanley Cup games in Canada against the Edmonton Oilers.

The disorganized storm system was moving across Florida from the Gulf of Mexico around the start of hurricane season in June, which this year is expected to be among the most active in recent memory, amid concerns that climate change is worsening the intensity of the storms.

The meteor was not yet classified as a cyclone and was unlikely to form a tropical system once it exited the Atlantic Ocean after crossing Florida, according to the National Hurricane Center.

A band of heavy rain was expected to pass over the region for the third day in a row, the Miami branch of the National Weather Service said Thursday morning in a post on the X social network.

“Even short-duration heavy rains could cause more flash flooding!” the publication stated.

Many roads remained flooded and were impassable for vehicles. On major Interstate 95 in Broward County, southbound traffic was diverted around a flooded stretch and road contractors were on the road to pump out the water, the Florida Highway Patrol said in an email. The interstate would not reopen until the water had been drained, the agency added.

The weather service office in Miami issued increasingly severe warnings.

“Life-threatening flooding is occurring,” the service said on the X social network. “Please stay off the roads and go to higher ground.”

Mayors in Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood declared states of emergency in their towns Wednesday afternoon. Later on Wednesday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis also declared a state of emergency in five counties: Broward and Miami-Dade, on the state’s Atlantic coast, and Collier, Lee and Sarasota on the western coast.

Miami-Dade County Councilwoman Daniella Levine Cava also issued a local emergency declaration.

Matthew Koziol, Matías Ricci, Manuel Ricci and Raúl Fernández travel by raft through a street flooded by heavy rain on North Bay Road in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida, on Wednesday, June 12, 2024

In nearby Hollywood, Mike Viesel was driving home Wednesday afternoon with his dog Humi when he found himself in a flooded area on a low-lying street, he told the Miami Herald.

As he braked and stopped, Viesel saw other cars pass him and dump even more water on his vehicle. His engine stopped.

“I would have walked out of the car,” he told the Herald, but his dog “has a problem with water.”

In Miami’s Edgewater neighborhood, the lobby of the building Alfredo Rodríguez moved into a year ago already had puddles of water on Wednesday morning. He told the Herald the building has flooded five times since he moved in.

Dozens of flights were canceled or delayed at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. The NHL’s Florida Panthers left more than three hours late for their nearly six-hour flight to Edmonton for games 3 and 4 of the Stanley Cup final.

Further north, the National Weather Service in Melbourne confirmed that an EF-1 tornado had hit Hobe Sound, on Florida’s Atlantic coast, north of West Palm Beach, on Wednesday morning.

Jim Comunale and Pam Mervos walk down Arthur Street as heavy rain floods the surrounding neighborhood on Wednesday, June 12, 2024 in Hollywood, Florida.

Jim Comunale and Pam Mervos walk down Arthur Street as heavy rain floods the surrounding neighborhood on Wednesday, June 12, 2024 in Hollywood, Florida.

The wind downed several banyan trees and caused damage to a store, Martin County fire officials said. No injuries were reported, although access to wealthy Jupiter Island was cut off by road debris.

It has already been a wet and windy week in Florida, especially in the Miami and Fort Lauderdale areas. About 6 inches (15 centimeters) of rain fell in Miami on Tuesday and 7 inches (17 centimeters) fell in Miami Beach, according to the National Weather Service. Hollywood, south of Fort Lauderdale, received about 5 inches (12 centimeters).

More rain was forecast for the rest of the week, prompting the weather service office in Miami to extend a flash flood watch through Thursday. Some places could see another half a foot (15 centimeters) of rain.

The west of the state, which has largely suffered from a prolonged drought, also received significant rainfall. In Sarasota, about 6.5 inches (16.5 centimeters) of rain fell Tuesday at the Sarasota Bradenton International Airport, according to the weather service, and there were flash flood warnings for those areas as well.

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