FORT LAUDERDALE.- Although the sun rose this Friday in areas of the southern Florida, Forecasters warned residents to prepare for more floodingas a tropical disturbance left up to 50 centimeters of rain in southern parts of the state and conditions are expected to worsen on Friday.
The disorganized storm system was crossing Florida from the Gulf of Mexico around the same time as the start of hurricane season, in early June, which this year is predicted to be one of the most active in recent yearsamid concerns that climate change is increasing the intensity of storms.
Authorities warned residents not to let their guard down, as the now flooded streets may trigger a new round of flash flooding. “Don’t be fooled by the sun peeking through the clouds”said the mayor of Miami-Dade, Daniella Levine Cavaat a news conference Thursday at the county’s emergency operations center in Doral. “We have seen clear skies this morning, but we expect heavy rain once again today”.
The downpours hit on Tuesday and continued into Wednesday, and They delayed flights at two of the state’s largest airports and left vehicles flooded and stopped on some of the lowest streets in the region. On Thursday, some were trying to salvage their plans as residents cleared debris ahead of the next round of rain.
The National Weather Service warned that even smaller amounts of precipitation could affect saturated areas, causing Flash floods Friday before the region has a chance to recover.
The state and several cities declared the state of emergency as floodwaters inundated homes and businesses, halted traffic on Interstate 95 and froze travel from the two major airports. At noon yesterday, Normal activities had mostly resumed and some places had dried out, despite more than 30 cm of rain this week.
“It seemed like the beginning of a zombie movie”said Ted Rico, a tow truck driver who spent much of Wednesday night and Thursday morning helping clear streets of stuck vehicles. “There are cars lying everywhere, on top of the sidewalks, in the median, in the middle of the street, without lights on. Just madness, you know. “Abandoned cars everywhere”.
Rico, of One Master Trucking Corp., was born and raised in Miami and said he was ready for the emergency.
“You know when it’s coming,” he said. “Every year the situation gets worse and, for some reason, people keep crossing puddles.”
Ticket and security lines formed around a national concourse at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Thursday. The travel panels showed that approximately half of the flights at a terminal had been canceled or postponed.
Bill Carlisle, a Navy Petty Officer First Class, spent the morning trying to catch a flight back to Norfolk, Virginia. He arrived at Miami International Airport around 6:30 (local time), but 90 minutes later he was still in line and realized that he could not check his luggage or get through security in time to take your fly.
“It was a zoo”said Carlisle, a public affairs specialist. He was speaking for himself, not the Navy. “There is nothing against (airport) employees, there is a lot they can do.”
He used his phone to book an afternoon flight from Fort Lauderdale. She took a ferry 20 miles (32 kilometers) north and discovered the flight had been cancelled. She was heading back to Miami to catch a 9 p.m. flight, hoping it wouldn’t be canceled as a result of heavy rain expected later that day. He was resigned, not angry.
“Just a long day sitting in airports,” Carlisle said. “This is normal for government travel.”
At Hallandale Beach, Alex Demchemko He walked his dog Lex along the flooded sidewalks near the Airbnb where he has lived after arriving from Russia last month to seek asylum in the United States.
“We didn’t leave our apartment, but we had to walk our dog,” Demchemko said. “A lot of lightning, rain, a lot of cars floating and a lot of abandoned cars without drivers, and there was a lot of water in the streets. “It was something catastrophic.”
On Thursday morning, Daniela Urrieche26, was getting water out of his truck, which got stuck in a flooded street while driving home from work Wednesday.
“In the nine years I have lived here, I never saw anything like this“, said. “Even during a hurricane, the streets were not as bad as they were in the last 24 hours.”
The flooding was not limited to the streets. Charlea Johnson spent Wednesday night at her Hallendale Beach home pouring water into the sink and toilet.
“The water began to rise everywhere and flooded the front and back”Johnson said.
AP and AFP Agencies
