Broward Back To Business, Gas Stations Still Running Low

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FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) -- With Hurricane Matthew long gone from South Florida, Friday morning revealed what damage the storm left behind.

At the Deerfield Beach Fishing Pier, Broward Sheriff's deputies guarded the entrance to the pier overnight until city officials could assess the damage just beyond the gazebo.

Matthew's lashing tore through wood floor panels, parts of the railing and the deck. The navigation lights were also knocked out. Crews have cordoned it off while they make repairs and let people back on the popular pier.

"We are stressing that everything that is blocked off is blocked off for a reason," said Rebecca Medina, a Deerfield Beach spokeswoman. "We have floorboards that're loose and it is not a safe situation. So go up to where it is safe to go and don't go any further."

Friday morning, though, was back to business as usual in Broward as stores took down their shutters and opened their doors.

"I wanted to make sure that everything was taken care of," said Ray Switzer, manager at the souvenir shop Beachcomber in Deerfield Beach. "But we're glad to open back up for the people."

The Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport reopened its terminals at 11 a.m. after stopping flights in and out just 24 hours earlier. Planes returned to the gates as delayed travelers were thrilled they could carry on with their plans.

"I was supposed to actually leave Thursday and spend four days in Canada," said Joseph Pierre. "But I'm leaving today and gonna spend three days in Canada instead. I wanted to push the date back one more day but that would've been an extra fee I didn't wanna pay for. So I'm gonna make the best of the trip and hope I have as much fun as possible."

The airport was left relatively unscathed.

"We had very minimal damage. We had a couple of doors that were pushed out that are being repaired, a couple of downed trees by our maintenance facility," said Greg Meyer, who works at the airport. "But other than that, it was really minimal damage to us."

Southwest Airlines, Air Canada, Allegiant and Caribbean Airlines have all canceled their flights for Friday. They will resume flights Saturday.

Some places remaining closed, however, are numerous gas stations that have yet to replenish their depleted fuel.

Broward's transit buses hit the road again -- but on a Sunday schedule. They will resume normal bus operations starting Saturday.

As for school, Broward County Public Schools will resume normal operations of all schools and administrative offices on Monday. All weekend District events and activities for Saturday and Sunday remain canceled. This includes field trips, clubs, athletic events, competitions, etc.

School officials said initial assessments of school campuses showed no visible property damage due to Hurricane Matthew.

"We are all very grateful that Broward County Public Schools, our families and communities received minimum impact from Hurricane Matthew," said Broward Public Schools Superintendent Robert W. Runcie.

The county's largest mall, Sawgrass Mills, reopened Friday along with the Westfield Broward Mall, Pembroke Lakes Mall and the Galleria Mall. Also open were all Publix supermarkets and Whole Foods in Broward.