SOUTHWEST RANCHES, Fla. – Witnesses said the flooding brought out alligators on Thursday to roam around farms and rural areas in Broward County putting chickens and other animals at risk.
Dozens of horses, cows, and sheep were in flooded grazing fields and equestrian parks just as the National Weather Service warned more thunderstorms were coming on Thursday evening.
Chelsea Marando, a co-owner of the Marando Farms and Ranch, at 5151 SW 64 Ave., in Davie, said she feared the flooding was going to end up hurting her horses. With the flooding, she said, come “all kinds of funguses and diseases and deterioration of frogs.”
There were horses knee-deep in water at an equestrian park, at 5840 SW 148 Ave., in Southwest Ranches. A calf walked through a flooded field near cows at the corner of Stirling Road and 136 Avenue
This was a few hours before the NWS issued a special weather statement for Wellington, a world-famous equestrian destination in Palm Beach County.
Torrential rainfall on Wednesday night prompted the NWS to declare a flash flood emergency warning about a major threat to life and property damage. Broward County declared a state of emergency and Broward County Public Schools closed schools Thursday and Friday with the hope of reopening on Monday.
Aerial video of sheep (No Audio)
Aerial video of horses and cows (No Audio)
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Good afternoon!
— NWS Miami (@NWSMiami) April 13, 2023
Thunderstorms will develop this afternoon across SFL, bringing a risk of both severe weather and flooding.
Please exercise caution, particularly in those areas saturated from prior rainfall and/or where residual flooding is ongoing!#Flwx pic.twitter.com/GLFSOEf1mh
Here are preliminary precipitation reports of over 10 inches from the last 24 hours.
— NWS Miami (@NWSMiami) April 13, 2023
We have a team that is out surveying flooding and other reports, and will send another update later on today. Stay tuned! #flwx pic.twitter.com/6sJZYYfdtX