'We Cannot Fight Nature': Miami Mayor Talks Future Of Miami Flooding
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado clarified how the city dealt and will deal with massive flooding like Tuesday's.
In about a two-hour period, parts of South Florida saw up to 6 inches of rain - especially in the Brickell area.
At last check, on Wednesday, one floor of the Brickell City Centre garage was closed due to flooding. A courthouse nearby - the Lawson E. Thomas Courthouse Center - was also damaged and closed down due to flooding.
In the area of Biscayne Boulevard, around 3 inches of rain fell yesterday afternoon.
"We cannot fight nature but we can do something to remedy the consequences," said Mayor Regalado while standing in front of a pump being built in Brickell meant to control flooding.
"Today, as we speak, we have online several pump stations in the City of Miami and four pump stations in the Flagami area...we have two new pumps near Marlins Park, one pump in Little Havana, one in Brickell, one in Belle Meade, one on Marco Island and one in Antonio Maceo Park in Flagami just next to Blue Lagoon,"said Mayor Regalado.
The mayor says they are officially launching a campaign in favor of 'Miami Forever' - a bond issue on infrastructure, sea level rise, flooding and housing for Miami residents.
The mayor along with other city officials are pushing for increased infrastructure improvements - saying more needs to be done to handle flooding like Tuesday's.
The pump being built in Brickell is expected to be fully installed by the end of the year.
City officials say they are also looking to do a storm water master plans so they could upgrade infrastructure where it's most needed. The new plan would take sea level rise into account.
The Miami-Dade Office of Emergency Management is also collecting information from businesses who were impacted by the flooding. Business owners who experienced damage due to Tuesday's flooding can report their information by clicking here.
