South Florida storms bring flooding, damage to area

MIAMI – A flood watch issued for South Florida Wednesday by the National Weather Service expired on Thursday morning.

The flood watch came a day after heavy rain flooded the streets south of Fifth Street in Miami Beach just before sunset.

And in Davie, drone video showed a neighborhood near Interstate 75 that was covered with water.

High winds and soaked soil likely caused a giant palm tree to topple over at the Brookfield Square condominiums in Lauderhill.

The top of the tree was sheared off, sending the trunk one floor below.

“I was at work and my boys texted me and then they called my cellphone. They’re like, ‘Mom, a tree fell, a tree fell, and it’s really loud,’” Lisa Barber said.

The toppled tree remains taped off as residents wait for inspectors.

“I’ve never seen anything like that before,” Barber said.

Despite the damage, officials say no one was hurt.

The heavy downpours also caused headaches for drivers.

In Fort Lauderdale, a shopping center parking lot looked more like a lake, while drivers on Interstate 595 were met with white-out conditions.

Do you have video or photos of weather-related damage in South Florida? Email them to share@wplg.com (please include the location) and we may use them on TV and/or Local10.com.

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About the Authors:

Amanda Batchelor is the Digital Executive Producer for Local10.com.

Trent Kelly is an award-winning multimedia journalist who joined the Local 10 News team in June 2018. Trent is no stranger to Florida. Born in Tampa, he attended the University of Florida in Gainesville, where he graduated with honors from the UF College of Journalism and Communications.