Broward hard hit by Hurricane Ian
FORT LAUDERDALE - On Tuesday night, the bands from Hurricane Ian hit Broward hard, causing flooding and a at least two tornadoes.
A band of heavy wind and rain blew through Davie causing near blinding conditions for drivers.
In Cooper City, the heavy rain left many streets under water.
The wind took down a large live oak tree branch blocking 51st street.
Tricia Morgan and her neighbor Robin Jensen believe a tornado swept thru their Cooper city neighborhood off 95th avenue, knocking out power to some homes and sending fences flying.
"I thought someone was trying to break down my door. I went outside and it was chaos" said Jensen.
That same system hit Pine Lake Plaza off Griffin road and Palm Avenue in Cooper City nearly taking the door of a Subway store off its hinges.
"It was all grey and you could see things blowing by," said Subway employee Kevin Hinsch.
Guy Romain was in the middle of a training session at the gym in the same plaza and said he felt the windows shake and saw a front door blow open.
"I didn't think the building would collapse, but I thought the windows would blow out because they aren't hurricane-proof. I think it was a tornado because 15 minutes before we got a warning on the phone," said Romain.
Hurricane Ian barreled toward Florida's west coast Tuesday, the outer bands of the storm pelted parts of Broward County.
On and off rain showers all day led to some localized flooding like the intersection of NE 9th Street and A1A on Fort Lauderdale beach.
The intersection has flooded before and businesses south of the intersection say it does deter customers because water covers the sidewalk and steps.
"It will probably take a couple of days to clear," said worker Katie Ewing.
Broward Mayor Michael Udine said Tuesday that the county had been preparing for the storm for days.
Crews cleared storm drains of debris and the South Florida Water Management District lowered canals countywide so excess rainwater would have somewhere to go and not overflow.
Some coastal neighborhoods saw minor flooding.
Some of the streets on Las Olas, west of the Intracostal Waterway had ankle-deep flooding after steady downpours Tuesday morning into the afternoon.
Resident Eav Baer showed us how her pool was neatly overflowing.
Many businesses along the beach areas of Broward were shuttered Tuesday as the rain and wind kept people indoors.
CBS 4 spoke to a couple visiting from Pittsburgh.
"We are fortunate considering what's happening in the rest of the state," said visitor Christie Kelley.
