High tides are again flooding streets and residential yards along South Florida’s east coast, creating major concerns for drivers and homeowners.
The Met Office has confirmed that the coast along southern Miami-Dade County to Fort Lauderdale will be affected several days this week by the annual King Tide.
The tide is an oceanic phenomenon that occurs in South Florida from September to November caused by the full moon.
The flooding is taking its toll on day-to-day life, says Miami Beach resident Nathan Cole who drove through several inches of seawater during “King Tide” on Monday.
“I had to drive through several inches of sea water, which is making my car rust badly.”
This area is still reeling from September super-moon flooding, which lasted for three days. This resulted in the towing of cars that were flooded along the inter-coastal in Fort Lauderdale and on Miami Beach Streets.
Environmentalist Bently Burger, said coastal flooding is “a serious problem, this is an early sign of the effects of climate change.”
“There are signs the ocean adjacent to South Florida’s coast is rising, and rising more annually,” says Burger. “This could create (a) serious storm surge along the coastline during future tropical storms.”
An urgent crisis in coastal residential viability may be within 15 years, but could be sped up with the construction of “several apartment buildings and expensive homes along the coast,” this could also affect drinking water and canal draining systems.
Burger also cited a Florida Atlantic University study showing a six-inch water level rise in 20 years.
After the high-tide flood last year, the City of Miami Beach began a five-year plan to install pumps throughout several neighborhoods to pump floodwater into nearby Biscayne Bay.
A city clerk said the public works department is working diligently to “beat the five year installment plan.”
Miami-Dade County is currently preparing plans to cope with potential high-tide floods. However, attempts to get details on the status of these plans, were unsuccessful.
