The Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport was shut down temporarily because of historic flooding in the Florida city. It is set to be closed until 9 AM Friday.
“Alert ( Update No. 9): Airline operations at #FLL are set to begin at 9AM, Friday, April 14, 2023. Travelers are advised to check with their airlines for updated flight times BEFORE coming to the airport. Thanks for your patience as we work to restore normal operations,” the airport tweeted.
The National Weather Service (NWS) Prediction Center said that Fort Lauderdale recorded more than 25 inches of rainfall on Wednesday, sparking a flash flood emergency in the Broward County. Visuals from the ground showed people abandoning their cars and roads clogged with water.
Fort Lauderdale tallied 25.91 inches in a 24-hour period, according to preliminary reports from the National Weather Service office in Miami. Two weak tornadoes also hit the Broward County Wednesday. One was west of Hollywood and the other one was south of the airport, authorities said,
After a number of flight delays and cancelations, the airport was shut.
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“Alert ( Update No. 8): Please note that #FLL is now slated to remain closed until 9AM on Friday, April 14,2023. The delayed timeframe is to accommodate final daylight inspections to determine the airfields’ readiness to resume safe flight operations. #SafetyFirst,” the airport tweeted then.
The airport had originally said operations would resume around 5 AM. The time was pushed back.
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“Please don’t come to the airport right now, please call the airlines. There’s no need to come right now. You can see traffic is still coming and going, hoping that they might be able to get on their plane, but that’s not going to happen,” Broward Mayor Lamar Fisher said.
“That goes for domestic and international flights. Please don’t come until we are back open again. We are not going to open this airport until it’s completely safe for our workers and visitors. We have declared a state of emergency,” he added.
