Massive Waves Push Sand, Water Inland And Cause Flooding Issues In Dania Beach
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DANIA BEACH (CBSMiami) – A coastal flood warning is in effect for Broward County through Tuesday.
For Dania Beach it's been quite a mess as the water is overtaking parts of the beach.
Cleanup crews working diligently Monday to restore Dania Beach's sand dunes as best as possible.
The dunes have been wrecked by massive waves striking the coastline, pushing sand into the parking lot. It all started Sunday.
Joseph Benet, who works with the city has been working non-stop to fix drainage in the area, said, "Oh this thing was high. Maybe about 5 feet in the water. So many cars get stuck. Even my truck get stuck."
Beachgoer Jennifer Dulude was taking photos Monday afternoon.
She came by after her friend Jennifer Lopez spent hours stuck in the parking lot at Frank Adler park. She showed photos of piles of sand surrounding Lopez's car.
Dulude noticing it's an issue not just for Dania beach.
"The sea out. No beach. It's almost like a hurricane came through," She said.
While beachgoers are still packing the beaches, albeit in tighter quarters, and surfers are taking advantage, Broward's coastal communities admit they are exposed. Irma knocked down significant sand dunes.
They are all in line for restoration with the Army Corp of Engineers. But it could be two or more years away from approval.
Boat owner Bob Linhart keeps two boats at the Dania marina.
"They spent so much time restoring these dunes with foliage and sea grass. And Irma basically destroyed it. And now this second tsunami, if you want to call it that, is doing the same thing. Which is sad because if it's approaching the parking lot, we are going to lose our beach," Linhart said.
Linhart said he's moving his van to higher ground.
"Apparently it's going to happen again tonight because full moon, and the storm out in the Northeast it's pushing this. So basically it's a reoccurrence of Irma. I don't know how far it's going to get because all these cars parked here are going to be under a couple feet of water if it does," he explained.
Dania's assistant city manager office told CBS4 they've only seen something like this during a hurricane and perhaps during a king tide. Never in March though.
They hope to have the park re-opened as soon as possible.