CBS News
DeSantis declares state of emergency for South Florida as torrential rain brings heavy flooding
MIAMI – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for South Florida Wednesday evening after 24 hours of inclement weather brought heavy rain and flooding to the region.
Flash flood warnings were issued for parts of Miami-Dade and Broward counties, where rainfall rates of several inches an hour submerged streets and snarled traffic.
The city of Sarasota was swamped Tuesday, with a record 3.93 inches of rain falling in just one hour. The rain forcing ground stops at both Miami International and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International airports, causing delays in excess of seven hours.
“We were looking at renting a vehicle to try and make it even to Orlando and maybe get on a flight but that isn’t going to work either,” frustrated traveler Chris Stephens told CBS Miami.
In a statement, the governor’s office said that the severe weather and flash flooding prompted DeSantis to declare state of emergencies for Broward, Collier, Lee, Miami-Dade and Sarasota counties.
Earlier in the day, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis also declared states of emergency, along with the cities of Dania Beach and Sunny Isles Beach.
“Due to ongoing heavy rainfall, several roadways throughout the City of Fort Lauderdale, including major thoroughfares like Broward Boulevard and Federal Highway near downtown are experiencing high water levels,” Trantalis said on X.
In Dania Beach, there were at least 40 rescues conducted by police and fire crews, CBS News Miami learned.
Periods of heavy rain continued to flood low-lying areas, with poor drainage throughout South Florida.
In Lee County on the Gulf Coast, emergency officials had to rescue at least one driver from floodwaters. Farther north, a possible tornado brought down trees and powerlines in Martin County.
The storms are part of a stalled system that’s pummeled Florida, dumping a month’s worth of rain in just 24 hours, with more rain forecast this week.
A flood advisory remained in effect for Miami-Dade and Broward counties through 10 p.m. The National Weather Service also issued a rare flash flood emergency for portions of southern Broward County and northern Miami-Dade which expired at 8 p.m.
A flash flood warning was also issued for Broward and Miami-Dade.
The National Weather Service warned residents to “move to higher ground now! This is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation. Do not attempt to travel unless you are fleeing an area subject to flooding or under an evacuation order.”
Meanwhile, officials at MIA said at least 221 flights had been canceled and 165 had been delayed so far Tuesday, while at FLL there were at least 261 flight cancelations and 166 delays.
The Florida Panthers were on a three-hour delay at FLL before their flight took off to Edmonton, Canada, for Game 3 of their Stanley Cup Final series.
South Florida officials said pump trucks were either in place or headed to flooded areas where they are needed.
In Broward County, part of I-95 had been closed due to flooding on the highway.
Power outages were also reported across South Florida, and some traffic lights had been affected, making an already dire driving situation even worse for drivers.
Florida Power & Light said there were more than 8,900 customers without power in Miami-Dade County as of Tuesday evening, and another approximately 1,900 without power in Broward County.
Law enforcement was warning drivers in need of a tow to call tow truck companies first if possible, as opposed to immediately contacting police.
This wet, stormy weather pattern will hold in South Florida through the end of the work week, forecasters say, with the tropical moisture dissipating slightly by the weekend. That will leave the region a bit drier, but there will still be a chance for storms, but not nearly as widespread.
Over the past 24 hours, Miami Beach saw nearly 7 inches of rain, Hallandale Beach saw 6 inches of rain, while Hollywood, North Miami and Coral Gables received just over 5 inches.
The 4 to 6 inches of rain that fell Tuesday squashed the rainfall deficit in Miami-Dade County, and put a good dent in Broward’s deficit.
However, forecasters say an additional 4 to 8 inches is possible over the next few days, and flooding risk will continue.
Watch CBS News
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
The U.S. will remove all its forces and equipment from a small base in Niger this weekend and fewer than 500 remaining troops will leave a critical drone base in the West African country in August, ahead of a Sept. 15 deadline set in an agreement with the new ruling junta, the American commander there said Friday.
Air Force Maj. Gen. Kenneth Ekman said in an interview that a number of small teams of 10-20 U.S. troops, including special operations forces, have moved to other countries in West Africa. But the bulk of the forces will go, at least initially, to Europe.
Tech. Sgt. Christopher Dyer / AP
Niger’s ouster of American troops following a coup last year has broad ramifications for the U.S. because it is forcing troops to abandon the critical drone base that was used for counterterrorism missions in the Sahel.
Ekman and other U.S. military leaders have said other West African nations want to work with the U.S. and may be open to an expanded American presence. He did not detail the locations, but other U.S. officials have pointed to the Ivory Coast and Ghana as examples.
Ekman, who serves as the director for strategy at U.S. Africa Command, is leading the U.S. military withdrawal from the small base at the airport in Niger’s capital of Niamey and from the larger counterterrorism base in the city of Agadez. He said there will be a ceremony Sunday marking the completed pullout from the airport base, then those final 100 troops and the last C-17 transport aircraft will depart.
Speaking to reporters from The Associated Press and Reuters from the U.S. embassy in Niamey, Ekman said that while portable buildings and vehicles that are no longer useful will be left behind, a lot of larger equipment will be pulled out. For example, he said 18 4,000-pound (1,800-kilograms) generators worth more than $1 million each will be taken out of Agadez.
Unlike the withdrawal from Afghanistan, he said the U.S. is not destroying equipment or facilities as it leaves.
“Our goal in the execution is, leave things in as good a state as possible,” he said. “If we went out and left it a wreck or we went out spitefully, or if we destroyed things as we went, we’d be foreclosing options” for future security relations.
AFP via Getty
Niger’s ruling junta ordered U.S. forces out of the country in the wake of last July’s ouster of the country’s democratically elected president by mutinous soldiers. French forces had also been asked to leave as the junta turned to the Russian mercenary group Wagner for security assistance.
Washington officially designated the military takeover as a coup in October, triggering U.S. laws restricting the military support and aid.
Watch CBS News
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.