Roads Turn To Rivers After Heavy Rains Wreak Havoc On South Florida Streets
Follow CBSMIAMI.COM: Facebook | Twitter
DORAL (CBSMiami) – While it wasn't a record, lots of rain in a short amount of time wreaked havoc on the streets of South Florida.
As Chopper4 showed, roads looked like rivers.
A total of five inches in the morning – three of those inches in an hour.
Streets were flooded near Mary Brickell Village at 900 South Miami Avenue and also near warehouses and businesses in Doral.
It posed a major dilemma for Julia Ionashku of Sarasota.
"I'm here to pick up a cabinet for my boss on the street over and I can't get there with a little car," she said. "I parked my car there when I saw cars stuck in the middle of the road. I figured I would go down the road. I decided to just walk instead."
Near the airport, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue responded to massive street flooding. They sealed off traffic on NW 7TH Street between 61st and 72nd Avenues for more than 2 hours, starting at 10 a.m.
Tow trucks were called in for cars and trucks that were abandoned.
Some people like Mildred Petite were stuck in traffic.
"How long have you been here?" CBS4's Peter D'Oench asked her.
"About an hour on this little street," she responded. "I'm worried about my car stalling in this water."
Marty Bueso thought she'd never escape.
"I've been here and hour and half trying to get through this water," she said. "This was a tiny little storm. I'm concerned. What happens if we have a big storm or a hurricane?"
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue is trying to find out why there was so much flooding here.
"We don't know why this happened. We are in touch with Miami-Dade Water and Sewer and want to know if there was a problem in the drainage system here," said Lt. Felipe Lay.
While the downpour ended by mid-morning, it has been raining on and off all day. The flood waters here have receded and the abandoned vehicles have all been towed away.