Locals Ready For More Seasonal High Tides, End In Sight
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FT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) - Residents of east Fort Lauderdale are questioning what city leaders are doing to deal with the flooded streets caused by King Tides.
Their concerns ratcheted up Tuesday after high tide in the morning brought more trouble for commuters and more annoyance for residents.
Pump stations sent water flowing out to sea Tuesday night as Fort Lauderdale city workers prepared for a long night of checking storm drains and doing all they could to keep rising tides from causing a mess.
A longtime resident named Ingrid said the scene Tuesday morning at high tide surprised her.
By nightfall, she knew she needed to get the grocery store before high tide returned.
"I've been here for 19 years and I've never seen anything like it," she said. "That's why I have to rush to the grocery store, get my groceries here, out and up before it starts flooding."
She questions what the city is doing to deal with the King Tides, made worse this week because of the closeness of the moon to earth.
She said she's like to see the city elevate some streets in the area along east Las Olas Boulevard.
Related: Miami Beach Pumped Millions Into Beating King Tides & It's Working
Larry Danielle also wonders what the city's plans are, especially when he sees the millions spent by the city of Miami Beach to put in pumps and build up roads and infrastructure to successfully handle the flooding.
Danielle's got 70 sandbags in front of his driveway. He's trying to take it in stride but he worries the problem is only going to get worse.
"I don't think (the city's effort is) very effective so far," he said. "It's a hassle but it's only for a couple weeks out of the year. But it's not great."
The good news is each day the king tides will get lower and lower and by the end of the week CBS4 Meteorologist Craig Setzer says we should only see a few wet spots on the road.
Another good sign is that the next time the moon will be this close to the earth is in 18 years.
The city of Fort Lauderdale wants to remind residents that if you see flooding in your area you can call a 24 hour hotline at (954) 828-8000.
