The Fort Lauderdale branch of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida is closed Thursday due to flooding, according to information on the court's website.

A state of emergency has been issued as rains pummeled South Florida for the past several days, striking Broward County the hardest.

"We ask neighbors to be patient with respect to the flooding, as the 50-year flood event has poured more than 20″ of rain in areas of Fort Lauderdale," city officials said in a statement via social media. "We expect the flooding to subside through the next hours and have seen improvements in certain areas of downtown."