Fort Lauderdale flooding shuts airport, closes schools

Severe flash flooding soaked parts of the eastern coast of Florida on Wednesday, after a torrential downpour brought nearly a foot of rain in just a few hours.

Roads were flooded, schools closed, and a major Fort Lauderdale airport was forced to suspend its service until Friday morning.

A local state of emergency has been issued as flooding persisted in parts of the city.

More rain is forecast for Thursday.

The city announced its first storm update at 16:45 local time (21:45 BST) on Wednesday. Less than an hour later, it issued another message alerting residents that a major roadway had been closed and advised drivers to avoid the area.

"Please stay off the roads, if possible. Turn around, don't drown," the statement said.

Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport suspended services on Wednesday, as waves of water rushed over the tarmac. Flooded roads and runways stalled vehicles and trapped residents.

"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 for hours, told NBC.

"I've never seen anything like this," said Ms Sachs, who grew up in nearby Miami.

The airport announced it would remain closed until 05:00 on Friday, "due to the volume of flooding and debris".

Emergency crews have responded to rescue calls, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or deaths.

The Red Cross has set up a staging area in Ft Lauderdale to aid residents whose homes have been flooded, and provide them with blankets, coffee, and a reunification point for families separated by the storm, authorities said in a statement.

City Hall in Ft Lauderdale was without power and so were more than 22,000 customers in Florida on Wednesday night, according to poweroutage.us.

Between 14in and 20in (35cm and 50cm) of rain had fallen in the greater Ft Lauderdale area by Thursday morning.

Ft Lauderdale announced that all city facilities will be closed on Thursday while it focuses on emergency operations and recovery.

The city has activated its Emergency Operations Center and said it is sending in airboats.

All Broward County Public Schools - one of the largest school districts in the nation - also remained closed on Thursday.

Residents wading through flood waters are being told to brace for additional storms.

"More rain and severe weather possible today as scattered showers and thunder-storms develop late this morning through the early evening across portions of the East Coast," the National Weather Service in Miami said in its forecast.