With lots of rain on the way, South Florida will likely see flooding. But where?
Something is headed toward South Florida, and whether it’s a named tropical storm or not, we’re in for some serious rain.
And when it rains in Miami-Dade, it floods. But where?
Longtime residents usually know which streets, intersections and parks are likely to become lakes after a summer deluge — or a fall king tide. But just because a place flooded in the past doesn’t mean it will flood again, said Randy Smith, spokesman for the South Florida Water Management District.
“It really depends on where the rain hits, where the heaviest amount of rain falls, which direction the storm is headed,” he said.
For now, the forecast over the next couple of days calls for four to eight inches of rainfall, all within the range that South Florida’s drainage system was designed to handle. Some isolated spots could see up to 10 inches, which could lead to more severe and longlasting flooding.
It’s still unclear exactly where the worst of the rainfall will occur or how fast it will come. But there are some spots that regularly go underwater in a heavy rainstorm in Miami-Dade despite the tens of millions that the county is spending to flood-proof against sealevel rise.
There’s no one map of every flood-prone spot in the county. Instead, there’s a patchwork of flood maps and lists of problem areas that cities have pulled together.
For cities and communities not on the list, there’s always the county’s flooding vulnerability tool, a map that shows an area’s elevation. Generally, lower-elevation areas experience more flooding.
And inland areas aren’t off the hook either. In Tropical Storm Eta in 2020, North Miami-Dade and South Broward saw some of the worst flooding in years after the storm sat and dumped rain there for days.
MIAMI
The most photogenic spot for floods in South Florida has to be downtown Miami and Brickell. After a summer rain, social media is full of videos of cars practically swimming down Biscayne Boulevard.
Northeast 11th to 14th streets, off Biscayne, is a particularly tricky spot. The area was underwater this week after an afternoon rainstorm.
Brickell Avenue is also a problem area, particularly at Coral Way.
Farther north, MiamiDade, Miami and El Portal worked together to map flood-prone areas in the Little River neighborhood. Areas near the river show up as floodprone, as well as some spots in the Shorecrest neighborhood.
MIAMI BEACH
The city of Miami Beach sends out alerts to residents ahead of the annual highest tides of the year, the king tides. The bulletins include tips for avoiding flooding, such as moving cars to a city garage or bridge. They also have a list of spots with known flood problems, including:
Indian Creek Drive from 29th to 41st streets
West Avenue and Eighth Street
First Street and Alton Road
South Pointe Drive and Washington Avenue
44th Street and Post Avenue (Muss Park) areas
North Bay Road from 43rd to 63rd streets Bonita Drive Marseille Drive and Rue Notre Dame
Crespi Boulevard and 79 Terrace
SURFSIDE
The tiny town of Surfside has big flooding problems. So big that more than one city official has floated the idea of installing “no wake” signs on some residential streets.
In 2019, consultants from Atkins Engineering worked with the town to map flooding hot spots after heavy rains.