Foot of rain causes severe flooding in South Florida in ‘1-in-1,000 year event’

Storms in South Florida brought almost a foot (30cm) of rain in a matter of hours on Wednesday, causing widespread flooding, closing the Fort Lauderdale airport and turning thoroughfares into rivers.

That amount of rain in a 24-hour period was a "1-in-1,000 year event", Ana Torres-Vazquez of the National Weather Service's Miami office told CNN.

Forecasts predicted more rain on Thursday as Fort Lauderdale issued a state of emergency with flooding persisting in parts of the city. Emergency crews had worked through the night to attend rescue calls, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or deaths.

Stranded cars littered streets around eastern Broward county, where rains started Monday, with the heaviest downpours coming Wednesday afternoon and evening. Crews worked to clear drains and fire up pumps to clear standing water. People were told to stay off roads until it drained.

The Red Cross arrived at 5am on Thursday and set up a staging area to help residents whose homes were flooded, providing them with blankets and coffee, officials said. The staging area also acted as a reunification point for families.

Fort Lauderdale city hall remained closed on Thursday with ground-floor flooding and no power.

More showers, thunderstorms and local flooding were in the forecast from the National Weather Service on Thursday morning. An additional 2 to 4in of rain was possible on top of the 14in that fell in recent days.

Fort Lauderdale Hollywood international airport remained closed through at least noon on Thursday, with many flights canceled and some passengers stranded. Roads around the airport flooded and became congested with stalled traffic.

By early Thursday, enough water had drained to allow people to drive on the upper level - or departures - road to pick up waiting passengers. But the entrance to the lower-level, or arrivals, road remained closed, officials tweeted.

Video taken by witnesses showed water coming in the door at an airport terminal and a virtual river rushing down the tarmac between planes.

In downtown Fort Lauderdale, video showed a man swimming to the curb along Broward Boulevard on Wednesday afternoon as as cars rolled by. Drivers also recorded themselves rolling through streets where brown, swirling water rose nearly to car hoods.

Hollywood mayor Josh Levy told CNN it was the worst flooding he'd experienced.

"The ground was already saturated so there is extensive flooding all over our city and throughout South Florida. Many roadways are impassable. Lots of vehicles got stuck and left abandoned in the middle of our roadways," Levy said. "I've lived here my whole life. This is the most severe flooding that I've ever seen."

Broward county schools canceled classes on Thursday, including after-school and extracurricular activities.

The heavy rains also shut down South Florida's high-speed commuter rail service, called Brightline. It tweeted on Wednesday evening that train service between Miami and Fort Lauderdale was suspended.