Floods shut down Fort Lauderdale airport and swamped runways. See what it looked like

Rising floodwaters shut down Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Wednesday.

The airport was closed all day Thursday and is expected to open at 9 a.m. Friday.

Water swamped access roads and runways. People were stuck in the terminal and in gridlock. Vehicles submerged and planes sat in high water.

KNOW MORE: Fort Lauderdale airport to reopen Friday morning; floods trap travelers for hours

Here’s what it looked like Thursday:

Planes in floodwater

American Airlines airplanes at their terminal as a truck drives through the flooded tarmac at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Thursday, April 13, 2023.
American Airlines airplanes at their terminal as a truck drives through the flooded tarmac at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Thursday, April 13, 2023.
BCAD Express and Fedex airplanes grounded on the tarmac as the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport is closed while the runway remains flooded on Thursday April 13, 2023, due to heavy rain that affected Broward County for the last two days.
BCAD Express and Fedex airplanes grounded on the tarmac as the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport is closed while the runway remains flooded on Thursday April 13, 2023, due to heavy rain that affected Broward County for the last two days.
A Spirit Airlines airplane parked as the runway remains flooded from heavy rain at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Thursday, April 13, 2023.
A Spirit Airlines airplane parked as the runway remains flooded from heavy rain at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Thursday, April 13, 2023.
American Airlines airplanes at their terminal as the runway remains flooded from heavy rain at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Thursday, April 13, 2023.
American Airlines airplanes at their terminal as the runway remains flooded from heavy rain at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Thursday, April 13, 2023.
A truck drives through the flooded tarmac at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Thursday, April 13, 2023.
A truck drives through the flooded tarmac at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Thursday, April 13, 2023.

The weary travelers

Travelers wait outside Terminal 2 at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport for flights to be resumed on Thursday, April 13, 2023, after the relentless rain caused the airport to suspend arriving and departing flights on Wednesday.
Travelers wait outside Terminal 2 at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport for flights to be resumed on Thursday, April 13, 2023, after the relentless rain caused the airport to suspend arriving and departing flights on Wednesday.
Travelers walk outside Terminal 2 at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Thursday, April 13, 2023, waiting for flights to be resumed after the relentless rain and windy conditions prompted the airport to suspend arriving and departing flights on Wednesday.
Travelers walk outside Terminal 2 at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Thursday, April 13, 2023, waiting for flights to be resumed after the relentless rain and windy conditions prompted the airport to suspend arriving and departing flights on Wednesday.

Flooded airport roadways

A Broward County TOPS vehicle on flooded West Perimeter Road in Fort Lauderdale on Thursday, April 13, 2023.
A Broward County TOPS vehicle on flooded West Perimeter Road in Fort Lauderdale on Thursday, April 13, 2023.
Vehicles on flooded West Perimeter Road in Fort Lauderdale on Thursday, April 13, 2023.
Vehicles on flooded West Perimeter Road in Fort Lauderdale on Thursday, April 13, 2023.
A Jeep drives on the perimeter road around the flooded runway on Thursday, April 13, 2023, at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, which remains closed due to the heavy rain.
A Jeep drives on the perimeter road around the flooded runway on Thursday, April 13, 2023, at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, which remains closed due to the heavy rain.
A Fedex truck on flooded West Perimeter Road in Fort Lauderdale on Thursday, April 13, 2023.
A Fedex truck on flooded West Perimeter Road in Fort Lauderdale on Thursday, April 13, 2023.

On the runway and tarmac

Delta Air Lines airplanes at their terminal as a truck drives through the flooded tarmac at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Thursday, April 13, 2023.
Delta Air Lines airplanes at their terminal as a truck drives through the flooded tarmac at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Thursday, April 13, 2023.
The flooded runway at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport that remains closed due to the heavy rain that affected Broward County for the last two days, on Thursday, April 13, 2023.
The flooded runway at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport that remains closed due to the heavy rain that affected Broward County for the last two days, on Thursday, April 13, 2023.
A BCAD Express airplane is parked as the runway remains flooded from heavy rain at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Thursday, April 13, 2023.
A BCAD Express airplane is parked as the runway remains flooded from heavy rain at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Thursday, April 13, 2023.
A private jet charter sits next to the hangar as the runway remains flooded from heavy rain at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Thursday, April 13, 2023.
A private jet charter sits next to the hangar as the runway remains flooded from heavy rain at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Thursday, April 13, 2023.

Authorities outside the airport

State troopers closed many exits on I-95 in the Fort Lauderdale area due to the heavy rain and flooding, Thursday, April 13, 2023.
State troopers closed many exits on I-95 in the Fort Lauderdale area due to the heavy rain and flooding, Thursday, April 13, 2023.
Two partially submerged vehicles from the explosives detection K9 team that got flooded at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Thursday April 13, 2023.
Two partially submerged vehicles from the explosives detection K9 team that got flooded at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Thursday April 13, 2023.