Why is the Fort Lauderdale airport closed? Exploring what happened amid flash flood emergency

Fort Lauderdale International Airport has been closed down following heavy rainfall that has left many vehicles stranded. The office of the National Weather Service in Miami also issued warnings for everyone to move to higher ground. While the upper-level roadway reopened on Thursday, April 13, 2023, it was only done to allow airport travelers to wait for their families to pick them up. Meanwhile, the traffic leaving the airport was also cleared.

Airport authorities were constantly updating travelers about the airport's closure and were providing details about the updates on the roadways that were open.

People also shared pictures and videos of their houses being filled with water. Pictures and videos also showed water reaching the entrance of the airport terminal and up to the hoods of the cars parked outside.

In the latest update, a tweet from the airport revealed that the airport would remain closed for flight activity until April 14, 2023, at 5 a.m. The tweet said that the closure would allow airport staff to restore partial operations on one runway on the condition that the weather conditions don't worsen. It advised travelers not to go to the airport before checking with their airlines about the updated flight status.

Although the cars remained stranded for a long time, there have been no reports of anyone's death or being injured. However, the Broward Sheriff's Office received calls that were not related to emergencies and they had to request everyone to save calls only for some emergencies.

Tornado warnings have been additionally sent for Fort Lauderdale, which could be a result of continuous and heavy rainfall. Thunderstorms have taken the form of rotations and there is a possibility that a local neighborhood, Dania, might be affected due to the tornado.

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Fort Lauderdale authorities working to help everyone with airboats and buggies

Several vehicles were stranded because of heavy rainfall (Image via ReOpenChris/Twitter)

While Fort Lauderdale is in a bad condition due to the heavy rainfall, emergency workers are doing everything they can to help those trapped in the flood. However, power was cut off in several places, and schools and other facilities were confirmed to remain closed until Thursday.

Flightaware.com reported that more than 300 flights arriving and taking off from the Fort Lauderdale airport were canceled. On April 12, 2023, a rare flash flood emergency was also declared by the National Weather Service office in Miami at 8 pm

The heavy rainfall was the result of a thunderstorm on Wednesday that affected the entire Fort Lauderdale area and led to rainfall of more than 3 inches per hour. In some areas, there was rainfall of 14 to 20 inches and several streets were affected due to the flooding.

By Wednesday, forecasters had predicted that there was a possibility of heavy rain, but there were no signs of flooding. The reason behind the intensity of the rainfall was due to a warm front which was reportedly lifting northward.

Several residents of the area spoke about their experiences via social media. A 49-year-old named Dawn Grayson said that she was traveling with her husband to catch a flight to Las Vegas. However, they got stuck at the airport because the traffic was stopped for the airport due to an increase in water levels.

According to a news release from Fort Lauderdale on April 12, flooding situations were worse in southern areas and emergency management crews were working for the entire night responding to rescue calls. The news release added that the city system is designed to handle 3 inches of rain within 24 hours and there have been instances where there have been around 12 inches of rain.