"Apocalyptic" flooding in South Florida caused by a drenching storm that dropped more than a foot of rain over the past couple of days swamped roads, dirupted flights, trapped drivers in their vehicles and prompted Gov. Ron DeSantis to declare a state of emergency.
"Cars are dropped just on the streets and everywhere - it's apocalyptic," a resident of Aventura told NBC 10.
Many drivers were forced to abandon their vehicles overnight because of the rapidly rising waters.
"This is craziness. We can't even make it through here. It's a risk," another resident told the station.
A woman was rescued from her vehicle around 7:15 a.m. in Aventura by a Miami-Dade Fire Rescue crew.
Another woman nearby waited for help.
DeSantis declared a state of emergency in five counties - Broward, Collier, Lee, Miami-Dade and Sarasota.
The weather also caused dozens of flights at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport to be canceled or delayed.
The Florida Panthers were delayed for more than three hours before being allowed to depart en route to Edmonton, Canada, for games 3 and 4 of the Stanley Cup Final, the Associated Press reported.
The National Weather Service Weather Prediction Center urged drivers to remain aware as the soaking rains continued on Thursday.
"A HIGH RISK of Excessive Rainfall is now in effect across parts of South Florida (including the Miami metro region) as additional rounds of heavy rain are likely today over very sensitive locations still recovering from yesterday's flooding. Stay weather aware!," it said on X.
Nearly two feet of rain fell in areas of South Florida, including Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Naples, the Weather Channel reported.
"Florida has been stuck in a pattern with high pressure to its east, and lower pressure to its west. That's pulled a deep plume of moisture from Central America and the Caribbean Sea into the peninsula," weather.com senior meteorologist Jonathan Erdman said.
