"FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The city’s main hospital was knocked offline for all but emergency procedures. Floodwaters shorted out the electrical equipment and generators at City Hall. And for the second straight day, one of the nation’s busiest airports was closed, stranding tens of thousands of travelers.

But according to Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis (D), it could have been worse. “The storm hit us at low tide,” Trantalis said, as his city remained crippled on Thursday by overwhelming rainfall. “That was a great help.”

Throughout the region, residents grappled with the impacts of the record-breaking storm, which sat over Fort Lauderdale and its 300 miles of coastal canals Wednesday. The rain sent water surging through city streets, flooding hundreds of homes and vehicles, damaging critical infrastructure and leaving brackish water to stagnate under Florida’s April sun."

Tim Craig, Scott Dance, Andrew Jeong, and Matthew Cappucci report for the Washington Post April 13, 2023. [2]