FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The Broward County courthouse will be closed to the public again on Tuesday after a water main break flooded its offices late Sunday.
Flooding on the first and second floors on Broward County's Judicial Complex in downtown Fort Lauderdale forced officials to close the courthouse on Monday. According to the Office of the Court Administrator, all proceedings, except emergency bond hearings, were canceled for Monday.
The flooding was the result of a 2-inch break in a water main on Sunday night. The water main burst in the Clerk of Courts' office, where records are stored, sending gallons of pressurized water shooting into the office and onto important files.
"Our traffic misdemeanor division and our administration division and our human resources divisions are flooded," said Clerk of Courts Howard Foreman.
"Not only just the files, but we also have a lot of confidential pleadings in envelopes. They've been soaked in the water," said Kris Mazzeo, the Deputy Clerk of Courts. "So what's going to happen is the county will bring a company in, and what they do is they go through here and they dry them and they sanitize them. They use chemicals on them. They try to keep and restore the files that they can. Some will be absolutely ruined."
Water damaged computers, phones and other equipment used for day-to-day operation of the building.
"We're brought to a complete standstill because we've lost all of our phone system," said Chief Judge Victor Tobin.
Crews spent the day Monday mopping up water, but a courthouse spokesman said it could take a month to rebuild the court's custom phone system.
The pipes in the courthouse are said to be 40 years old, Local 10's Jeff Weinsier reported. This isn't the first time the courthouse has had water problems. Last February, water damage was so extensive after a pipe burst, the magistrate had to conduct court via television.
Tobin has been pushing for a new judicial complex, but a majority of voters said "no," and the county is strapped for cash.
The courthouse will remain closed on Tuesday. Those who work in the building will be contacted individually by their departments.
Phone company workers are trying to get a temporary phone system running.
People who need to pay a traffic ticket can go to the satellite courthouses in Hollywood, Deerfield Beach or Plantation, which all remained open.
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