FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Relentless rain plus seasonal king tides wreaked havoc on Broward County.
At Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Thursday, there were temporary closures to airport entrances because the water was too high for cars to drive through. The water has since receded. In Fort Lauderdale’s Flagler Village, a Life Storage parking lot looked more like a pond.
But it was the scene off West Dania Beach Boulevard where an SUV’s front end was dipped under water after its driver tried to make it through deep water.
The flooded area has since been blocked off after staff at area businesses reported to the city that the conditions were not safe.
Bill Beakey works in the area and said he believes the deep water is due to increased residential development.
[RELATED: Flood watch in effect then South Florida weather improves]
“One of the builders apparently changed the structure of the road and increased the height in some places by as much as 2 feet I understand, pushing all the water in front of this area right here,” as he pointed to an area filled with water.
He said now every time there is heavy rain there are issues with flooding. He said the situation could have, and should have been, prevented.
“I don’t know who approved the plans to make the road this way, but it should never have been done like this,” Beakey said. “I’m disappointed in the oversight and approval process that allowed this to happen.”
Local 10 meterologist Jordan Patrick tracked rainfall over the last 72 hours since Monday morning: Pembroke Pines recorded 6.67 inches of rain, Fort Lauderdale had 6.42 inches, Homestead at 6.24, Cooper City at 6.15, and Miami with 4.05 inches of rain.
“We usually only get about 8 inches over the entire month of October. We almost did that in just about three days,” Patrick said.
A flood watch remains in effect in Broward and Miami-Dade counties until 8 p.m. Thursday.
There is better weather on the horizon, though, with Friday looking a lot clearer, and this weekend not expected to be a washout.
For the latest updates, visit the Weather Authority page.