Freak storm sparks flash flooding at Walt Disney World

Rainfall follows above average temperatures for Florida

Torrential downpours above southern Florida have sparked flash flooding at Walt Disney World.

Social media footage from Monday showed visitors splashing about in the flood at the Hollywood Studios park in Orlando, southern Florida, following a storm.

Visitors were seen wading through flood water around the Hollywood Boulevard area of the park before closing time, as well as in Epcot, another Walt Disney World park.

Turnstiles also appeared submerged and streets were turned into small swimming pools, with several inches of flood water failing to drain away.

The National Weather Service in Miami had earlier warned of the potential for rainfall for the western and interior portions of south Florida, as well as thunderstorms on Monday evening.

Some members of Disney staff were surprised by the downpour.

“One cast member said he’d never see the likes [of this] in 17 years,” said Sara Thornton, a British weather forecaster who was visiting the Hollywood Studios park.

“Flash flooding at Walt Disney World at Disney Park’s Hollywood Studios this evening,” she tweeted along with footage of a swamped Hollywood Studios.

One Epcot visitor wrote: “I really enjoyed Epcot’s latest immersive experience in Future World, the crippling reality of climate change”, in apparent reference to the Epcot concept of the “city of tomorrow”.

Flooding, both coastal and inland, is increasing in Florida due to the climate crisis, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has warned.

The volume of precipitation during rainstorms has increased by 27 per cent in Southeast Florida since 1958.

Global heating, largely driven by the burning of fossil fuels, means more moisture being held in the atmosphere, and increasing extreme rainfall events.

A recent study found that the climate crisis may be exacerbating the cost of flood damage in the US by around one-third.

The Independent has approached Walt Disney World for comment.