South Florida floods: Fort Lauderdale Airport closed as region sees more than two feet of rain

South Florida has been hit with more than two feet of rain causing floods and severe disruption to the region.

It’s an “unprecedented amount” of rainfall for the area according to Miami meteorologist Shawn Bhatti, who added that the total precipitation within the six-hour period was a “one in 1,000 chance” event in a year.

The rain was at its heaviest on Wednesday in Broward County, southeast Florida, and measured up to 25in on some gauges.

Fort Lauderdale issued a state of emergency, and its Hollywood International Airport will remain closed until Friday morning due to the scale of debris and excess water. Its City Hall is also shut, flooded and without power.

Roads were swamped as one witness said he saw abandoned cars “floating like boats” in the Fort Lauderdale streets.

A video emerged of a man swimming to the kerb as vehicles drifted by.

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Some schools became inaccessible due to the floods and those in Broward County were forced to cancel classes today as the deluge had entered hallways and classrooms the day before.

Toni Barnes, director of emergency management of Broward Schools said: “Staff members attempting to leave campuses – they were unable – they were trapped in their cars.

“We had to call fire rescue to assist our parents out of their cars to get them into the school because they were trapped.”

Rescue operations took place through the night, though there haven’t been any reports of injuries or deaths as of yet.

Meanwhile, the Red Cross has been providing those affected with blankets and refreshments as crews continue to drain the city of water.

The National Weather Service has forecast more showers and thunderstorms in the area tonight, which could continue into Friday.