Steve Quayle News Alerts

May 28, 2003
By Rafael A. Olmeda and Jaime Hernandez Staff Writers

Torrential rains and winds knocked down power lines and caused widespread flooding throughout Broward County on Tuesday, snarling traffic on major roads and closing Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport to air traffic for three hours.

"The flight schedule's in shambles tonight," said airport spokesman Jim Reynolds. "It's easily the worst we've had in 20 years outside of a hurricane or tropical wave. I don't think anybody expected the severity of the storm we had."

The airport closed to air traffic after 5:30 p.m., as some of the worst of the downpour was pummeling the Fort Lauderdale area. Planes began taking off again after 8 p.m., but even then it was on a limited basis. It wasn't until 10 p.m. that airport officials were able to get planes moving again with any regularity, Reynolds said.

Until then, passengers were trapped in terminals while roads leading to and from the airport were shut down because of severe flooding and stalled vehicles. Incoming flights were diverted to Miami International and Palm Beach International airports.

The National Weather Service reported more than 9 inches of rainfall at the airport, and it was not much better throughout the rest of the county. The area remains under a flood watch until noon today. "It's pretty wild," said Broward County Fire-Rescue spokesman Todd LeDuc. "It's been nonstop calls all night."

Accidents, power surges, downed wires and partial roof collapses kept fire-rescue workers busy, he said.

"Fortunately, while we've had a lot of disruption of normal activities and people being significantly inconvenienced, what we don't have is any serious injuries or fatalities," LeDuc said.

Lisa Williams, 28, said she thought lightning struck her Fort Lauderdale home as the storm passed through the area.

"I heard thunder, and then the roof caved in," she said. The hole was the size of a garbage can, she said. "All my living room furniture is gone."

Stranded motorists sat in their cars waiting for tow trucks on Broward Boulevard, where water at some points was more than 2 feet deep.

At the Hess gas station on Andrews Avenue and 33rd Street, station manager David Gandy had to close the 24-hour business because flood waters covered the base of the gas pumps. Four gas-hole covers not normally locked down because of their heavy weight floated off the holes, causing a small car and a van to get stuck in them. Gandy said gasoline cannot spill because the holes serve as drains.

"They just floated off. I didn't even have a warning until the police came up here and said the tops were coming off. They're made to sit real heavy so nothing can get into them.

"If I've got people in the parking lot getting stuck, I need to seriously shut down my station and not do anything."

The weather service calls for more gray clouds and thunderstorms today, when there is a 70-percent chance of rain with high temperatures in the mid- to upper 80s.

On Thursday, the rain chance falls to 30 percent and on Friday, 20 percent, although because the summer rainy season has started, each day holds a chance for isolated showers and thunderstorms.

The same low pressure system bringing heavy rain to Florida also brought thunderstorms and soggy conditions to much of the Southeast, including Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and the Carolinas.

Staff writers Ken Kaye and C. Ron Allen contributed to this report.

Rafael Olmeda can be reached at rolmeda@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4207.
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