MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) – South Florida’s significant king tide flooding continued Wednesday, with the current cycle expected to ease by Friday.
The tide peaked Tuesday night due to a full moon, with residents across Broward County, Miami-Dade County and the Florida Keys saying this was the worst king tide flooding they have ever experienced.
7News cameras captured seawater that breached the seawall and spilled onto Collins Avenue near the 4500 Block in Miami Beach Wednesday morning.
7Skyforce also captured flooding on streets in North Bay Village and near the Bay Harbor Islands.
Scientists warned the long-term threat is growing as sea levels continue to rise.
“We have a little extra sea level rise in Florida, just from the intensification of the Gulf Stream. I’m talking about, the high tides have increased by an additional foot since 1993, and we expect another 1.5 to 2 feet during the king tide season from September to December,” said Jason Box, Ph. D., professor of climatology at Nova Southeastern University. “That season is widening. We used to only have a couple of flooding days per year, and now we have four times more flooding since the year 2000.”
Box also said future king tides could push water even higher, so protecting the coastlines may require more than just raising roads and installing pumps.
“The beach is narrower now. They’re getting steeper because the wave action can really cut in, so you may notice some rather steep, kind of, mini cliffs at the beach, and that’s the effect of, you know, more wave action working on those,” said Jason Box, professor of climatology at Nova Southeastern University. “So, to mitigate that again, artificial reefs is something to consider. Those have just been tested, and scaling them out is really the question.”
Long-term solutions will be necessary, but for now, residents and drivers are being urged to plan ahead, especially with low-landing areas where saltwater could quickly flood streets.
“Really better to plan around and just wait a few hours until the tides go down. We have the two tidal peaks per day, so you can plan around that, and I think it’s not worth going in deep because that saltwater can damage the vehicle,” said Box.
North of the county line, Fort Lauderdale experienced significant flooding after water pushed through storm drains during Wednesday morning’s high tide.
City officials closed off a street in a neighborhood off Northeast 20th Avenue and Sunrise Boulevard due to the high water.
Tuesday was the highest tidal level the city has seen to date.
“I’ve never seen the king tide come over the seawall,” said Laura, a Fort Lauderdale resident. “The roads were completely covered in deep water.”
Laura said she considered herself lucky because she drives a high car.
“If you had a low car, you couldn’t drive through it,” she said.
Laura said she has her sights set on drier days to come.
“I can survive it,” she said. “I’m glad to see the sun today.”
Fort Lauderdale officials urged drivers to avoid going through flooded roadways as to not get stuck.
7Skyforce captured the intersection of Sunset Drive and Las Olas Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale extremely flooded with standing water that has not yet receded as of Wednesday afternoon.
The Las Olas Boulevard bridge is also closed in both directions, with 7Skyforce showing flooding going east just off the bridge, starting at Poinciana Drive.
Motorists heading east on the bridge will be forced to make a U-turn.
The water from this week’s king tides reached record-breaking heights, cracking the top five water levels in South Florida since 1994.
A coastal flood warning is in effect in Miami-Dade and Broward through 8 p.m. Wednesday, with a coastal flood advisory set to replace the warning into Thursday.
The Florida Keys is also under a coastal flood warning until 5 a.m. Thursday.
The next high tides will start at 10:31 p.m. in Fort Lauderdale and 11:00 in Miami Beach.
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