South Florida continues to be on alert due to the bad weather that, since Tuesday, continues to hit this area of the state. The heavy rains, in some places reaching 50 centimeters of water, have left a desolate panorama with heavy flooding, vehicles trapped in the water and roads and neighborhoods turned into real canals and lakes.
“The rains were very intense, it was very difficult to walk through the streets because there was a lot of flooding,” said Greicy Martínez, a Cuban resident a few blocks from the Brickell financial district, where some streets were flooded with water.
The emergency declaration in South Florida primarily served to allocate more county resources to help residents affected by heavy flooding in this area of the state. Schools, garbage collection, and transportation services were suspended and more than 400 flights from Miami International Airport were canceled.
“The main message is to stay home or indoors when it is raining. “Do not drive or walk through flooded areas, it is not known what dangers are hidden under the water,” insisted the mayor of Miami-Dade County, Daniella Levine-Cava, in statements to the media, including the Voice of America.
In addition to Miami-Dade, five other South Florida counties remained on alert. So far no fatalities have been recorded, although there have been some rescues.
“We were able to rescue 34 people. We received 16 calls, three were from homes and the other thirteen calls were from people who needed vehicle evacuation,” said James Reyes, head of public safety for Miami-Dade.
From the local administration they assure the VOA that a large number of emergency teams have been mobilized, without mentioning an exact number, and that they have implemented an action plan to ensure the presence of rescuers in areas that could be flooded with the aim of reaching the area of a faster and more effective way.
“The rain can come very quickly, it can occur in less than 15 minutes, so please be aware of the messages from the county to maintain our safety,” said Juan Carlos Bermúdez, commissioner of Miami-Dade County, before journalists.
Authorities emphasize that a mandatory evacuation order has not been given since it is only given during a threat of storm surge due to a tropical storm or hurricane. But is not the case. Of course, the authorities are still monitoring the evolution of the weather because the consequences, they warn, could be catastrophic.
“These rains are enough to cause the flooding that has occurred and may occur in the coming days,” said Robert Molleda, a meteorologist with the United States National Weather Service.
Forecasts indicate that up to 25 centimeters of water could be recorded this Saturday in some areas, so they ask the population to continue taking extreme precautions.
“I live on the ninth floor, so I suppose that when the water reaches the ninth floor we will all be drowned. But what had to be done was to follow the instructions that no one went out if it was not necessary, that’s why I’m going out now to do the shopping,” said Beatriz Fernández, who had taken the opportunity to go to the supermarket taking advantage of the fact that the rain had caused a truce.
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