Heavy storms cause road closures, property damage in Broward County

BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. – As parts of Broward County continue to see excessive rain Wednesday due to heavy storms in the area, residents are starting to see several road closures and property damage to their homes.

Hollywood Fire Rescue told Local 10 News they have been responding to a surge of 911 calls from people trapped in their broken down vehicles.

This as the weather continued to deteriorate and the floodwaters continue to rise as day turned to night.

“It was a howling rumbling wind because everything was hitting the roof as well because the tent is on the roof,” said Hollywood resident Kristina Oliva.

Oliva recounted being indoors when her dogs began barking. She then heard a strong wind followed by a lot of noise. Upon investigating, she discovered her tent on the roof and her gazebo damaged.

“It’s upsetting because it’s stuff I just purchased,” Oliva said.

However, the most striking sight was near North 59th Ave and Grant Street in Hollywood, where a tree had fallen onto a pickup truck. Numerous other trees were also down, some blocking roads.

The previous night, torrential rain pounded South Florida, overwhelming some roads and prompting crews to close them down in Hallandale Beach.

Crews across Broward County mobilized, aiming to address the rounds of rain expected to continue.

“There’s new infrastructure in the ground, there are new drainage systems that will support this type of daily rainfall,” Fort Lauderdale Public Works Director Dr. Nancy Grassman.

The unfortunate weather ruined a day at the beach for many, and businesses along the Hollywood Beach Broadwalk suffered financially.

“It kills our business, our pocket, kills the vacation for the people,” said a Broward business owner.

A major issue in many neighborhoods is drainage systems clogged with litter and landscape debris.

There’s a lot of litter and landscape debris that gets washed into the system,” said Broward County highway & bridge maintenance director Anh Ton.

Officials stress the importance of citizen responsibility, urging people to be prepared and avoid driving through flooded areas.

“We have four to eight or nine days of heavy rains,” said Broward Commissioner Robert McKinzie. “Just be prepared. Don’t get in your car and drive through waiting water.”

In the midst of a respite from the relentless rain, Local 10 News spoke to residents in Hollywood, where vehicles were seeking refuge from the flooded waters.

A black SUV was seen stalled on South 22nd Avenue as car parts bobbed among the currents.

Local 10 News spoke with a worker in Hollywood who said he wished he would’ve called out to avoid the excessive flooding.

“I’m driving my brother’s car over here and it’s pretty much, you know, electronic-wise BMW in Germany and stuff. If I knew this was gonna happen, I really wasn’t coming in to work and would have called out,” he said.

The rainstorm caused major flooding in South Florida and even a closure of a stretch of Interstate 95 in Davie.

Torrential downpours also created a flood of trouble for drivers in Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday afternoon.

Waters rose nearly shin high for people walking along Southwest 13th and 14th Streets in the Riverland Village area of west Fort Lauderdale.

Rising waters left a car stalled along Southwest 31st Avenue, with others slowly making their way through the rising water.

Several inches of standing floodwater continued to get closer to homes in the residential area.

Following the continuous downpour in Broward County, Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis said he planned to issue a state of emergency on Wednesday evening.

To receive an updated weather analysis from Local 10′s weather team, click here.