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Hurricane season begins in Florida with rainy deluge

CGTN

Dangerous flooding from a tropical disturbance inundated much of southern Florida on Wednesday, blocking roads and floating vehicles.

The disorganized storm system was pushing across Florida from the Gulf of Mexico at roughly the same time as the early June start of hurricane season, which this year is forecast to be among the most active in recent memory amid concerns that climate change is increasing storm intensity.

The disturbance has not reached cyclone status and was given only a slight chance to form into a tropical system once it emerges into the Atlantic Ocean after crossing Florida, according to the National Hurricane Center.

An airplane on the runway as heavy rain falls over the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Broward County, Florida, U.S., June 12, 2024. /CFP
An airplane on the runway as heavy rain falls over the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Broward County, Florida, U.S., June 12, 2024. /CFP

An airplane on the runway as heavy rain falls over the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Broward County, Florida, U.S., June 12, 2024. /CFP

Numerous roads are flooded and impassable for vehicles. Dozens of flights were delayed or canceled at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

The Miami weather service office issued increasingly dire warnings. Later Wednesday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for five counties, including Broward and Miami-Dade on Florida's Atlantic coast and Collier, Lee and Sarasota counties on the state's west coast.

A flooded street in Hollywood, Florida, June 12, 2024. /CFP
A flooded street in Hollywood, Florida, June 12, 2024. /CFP

A flooded street in Hollywood, Florida, June 12, 2024. /CFP

Further north, the National Weather Service in Melbourne confirmed that an EF-1 tornado hit Hobe Sound on Florida's Atlantic Coast, north of West Palm Beach, on Wednesday morning.

The winds knocked down multiple banyan trees and caused some damage to a store, Martin County Fire Rescue officials said. No injuries were reported, but access to wealthy Jupiter Island was cut off by debris on the road.

It's already been a wet and blustery week in Florida. In Miami, about 150 millimeters of rain fell Tuesday and 170 mm in Miami Beach, according to the National Weather Service. Hollywood got about 120 mm.

More rain was forecast for the rest of the week, leading the weather service office in Miami to extend a flash flood watch through Thursday. Some places could see another 150 mm of rain.

The western side of the state, much of which has been in a prolonged drought, also got some major rainfall. Nearly 165 mm of rain fell Tuesday at Sarasota Bradenton International Airport, the weather service says, and flash flood warnings were in effect in those areas as well.

Flood waters surround a house in Hollywood, Florida, June 12, 2024. /CFP
Flood waters surround a house in Hollywood, Florida, June 12, 2024. /CFP

Flood waters surround a house in Hollywood, Florida, June 12, 2024. /CFP

Forecasts predict an unusually busy hurricane season.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimates there is an 85 percent chance that the Atlantic hurricane season will be above average, predicting between 17 and 25 named storms in the coming months, including up to 13 hurricanes and four major hurricanes. An average season has 14 named storms.

Fort Lauderdale was hit hard in April 2023, with record rainfall totals ranging from 380 mm to 660 mm. Many homes and businesses were flooded.

(Cover: A "geese crossing" sign along a flooded street in Hollywood, Florida, U.S., June 12, 2024. /CFP)

Source(s): AP
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