Foot of rain causes severe flooding in South Florida in ‘1-in-1,000 year event’

Forecasts predicted more rain on Thursday as Fort Lauderdale issues a state of emergency with flooding persisting in parts of city

Storms in South Florida brought almost a foot (30cm) of rain in a matter of hours on Wednesday, causing widespread flooding, closing the Fort Lauderdale airport and turning thoroughfares into rivers.

That amount of rain in a 24-hour period was a 1-in-1,000 year event", Ana Torres-Vazquez of the National Weather Service's Miami office told CNN.