FORT LAUDERDALE: A state of emergency has been declared in Fort Lauderdale due to the life-threatening flash floods in Florida, the Press Trust of India news agency reported on Thursday.

Hundreds of flights bound to and from South Florida have been cancelled by the local authorities. As a result, the Sri Lankan team was left stranded in the city.

The first match that Fort Lauderdale was supposed to host at the Central Brow­ard Park was Sri Lanka’s encounter against Nepal, however that match got washed out due to heavy rain. It is supposed to host three more important games including sides like India, Pakistan and USA.

Sri Lankan team was sup­posed to fly out from Fort Lauderdale to the Car­ibbean islands on Wedn­esday, but heavy rain and flooding has forced them to delay their departure.

While USA play Ireland on Friday, Babar Azam’s side take on the same opponents on Sunday. If USA beat Ireland or the match gets washed out, they will join India as the second team from Group ‘A’ to qualify for the Super Eight.

This means that Pakis­tan’s match on Sunday will have no relevance as they will get knocked out if the Ireland-USA encounter ends up being abandoned.

However, if USA do end up losing against Ireland then Pakistan will have a huge chance to qualify for the Super 8 if they can beat the same opposition on Sunday.

Published in Dawn, June 14th, 2024