4/14/2023

Florida Division of Emergency Management Issues Updates on Southeast Florida Flooding - 4/14 Morning

Today, Executive Director Kevin Guthrie arrived on scene to offer further state support and direction to Broward County and the City of Ft. Lauderdale in response to devastating flooding happening overnight on April 13. At the request of the City of Ft. Lauderdale, the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) has deployed staff to assess damage in the area. FDEM remains in constant communication with local partners and stands ready to provide additional state support as requested.

In response to the significant flooding in southeast Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis has issued Executive Order 23-65 declaring a State of Emergency in Broward County. The State Emergency Operations Center remains activated at a Level 2 in response to Hurricanes Ian and Nicole, Mass Migration, and unprecedented flooding in southeast Florida. FDEM has taken the following actions:

• FDEM Executive Director Kevin Guthrie has deployed to Broward County and is on the ground to offer further support and direction to the City of Ft. Lauderdale.
• The State Emergency Operations Center has activated to a Level 2, activating all Sections of the State Emergency Response Team.
• The SERT is hosting daily calls to include weather updates and partner brief outs.
• FDEM has deployed staff to support local efforts including coordinating future damage assessments and collecting damage assessment data in Broward County.

Rainfall totals of 4-8 inches have fallen over southeastern Broward County and northeastern Miami-Dade County, with the heaviest rainfall amounts of 15-25 inches estimated through the Fort Lauderdale metro area. The Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) and Ft. Lauderdale International Airport’s Florida Severe Weather MesoSTEM Network, which provides hyper-accurate local data, has registered 25.87 inches of rain.

In addition to the unprecedented flooding, the National Weather Service confirmed two EF-0 tornadoes from Thursday’s event. The strongest tornado was just southwest of the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, and the second one was located just west of I-95 and north of Sheridan Street.

Broward County has issued a local state of emergency and activated their County Emergency Operations Center to a Level 2.

Other state efforts include:

Department of Transportation

• FDOT continues to assist local agencies with crews and equipment to help reduce flood waters at multiple locations in the area. The New River Tunnel (U.S. 1) has been reopened.
• FDOT crews have been activated to perform damage assessment surveys.
• FDOT continues to assist local agencies with crews and equipment on traffic signal outages.
• Emergency messaging remains posted to advise the public of any remaining road closures caused by flooding in downtown Fort Lauderdale.
• FDOT crews continue to provide assistance at locations where lane closures or full road closures are necessary to ensure motorists can safely get by or have appropriate detour signage to follow.
• Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport reopened at 9:00 a.m. today, April 14.
• Port Everglades remains open and continues to assess damages.
• Port Canaveral is supporting in fuel distribution to prevent fuel shortages in south Florida.
• Real-time traffic updates including road closure information can be found at FL511.com.             

Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles

• FHP is increasing staffing and implementing altered shifts to enhance staffing and allocate appropriate resources.
• FHP staffing the State Emergency Operations Center to support flooding response efforts.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission

• FWC has deployed four swamp buggies, two high lift UTVs, and 15 4x4 trucks to aid response.
• FWC is currently supporting Broward County Fire Rescue and the Broward County EOC to respond to high water levels in Ft. Lauderdale.
• FWC has deployed a 15-officer team in high water vehicles to assist with welfare checks, neighborhood patrols, non-emergency evacuations and calls for service.

Department of Education

• All Broward County Public Schools and District offices remain closed on Friday, April 14, 2023. All afterschool activities, events, and extracurricular activities have also been cancelled.
• Teams are currently assessing schools for damage to determine the length of closures.

Florida Department of Economic Opportunity

• DEO is in contact with Broward County development office to determine businesses closed due to flooding.
• DEO is activating the private sector hotline at 850-815-4925 from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. for businesses to inquire about response and recovery resources available to them. Inquiries may also be emailed to ESF18@em.myflorida.com. 
• DEO has activated the Business Damage Assessment Survey to gather data and assess the needs of affected businesses impacted by flooding.

Department of Business and Professional Regulation

• DBPR Division of Hotels and Restaurants district staff are standing by to send inspection teams to assess damage and assist impacted licensees.

Agency for Health Care Administration

• The Agency for Health Care Administration has teams on-site evaluating health care facilities in the area. At this time, agency surveyors have reported no safety concerns, all facilities have power and are operating. The Agency remains in contact with providers to respond swiftly to any situation that may arise.
• The Agency has been in contact with all hospitals and nursing homes in the impacted area.

Department of Elder Affairs

• The Area Agency on Aging of Broward County has spoken with their senior service providers across the county to assess any needs. These providers are directly calling clients to check in on unmet needs and working with local government to obtain long-term housing for two displaced residents, as well as enrolling them in their services.
• Seniors in need of services may call the Helpline at 954-745-9779.

For additional weather updates and safety tips, follow the Division on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter @FLSERT.