Clean-Up From Sandy Begins In Coastal Broward
BROWARD (CBSMiami) — From Friday's overcast skies with wind and rain, to Saturday's cloudless sky with sun-kissed breezes...what a difference a day makes.
By the time the sun rose Saturday, for the first time since the winds and rain from Hurricane Sandy pounded South Florida, the clean-up was already under way.
After crews spent most of the day clearing water and sand off the streets, high tide threatened to re-flood portions of A1A in Fort Lauderdale Saturday night.
"A1A is closed from Bayshore to about the 1900 block of A1A," Fort Lauderdale Police Det. Deanna Garcia said. "We also have a little bit of closures in the area of the foot of the bridge at Sunrise. Around the 2600 block of East Sunrise is also under water."
Hurricane Sandy lived up to its name on Fort Lauderdale Beach. Piles of sand dot the shoreline where crews have already cleared A1A.
"They had bulldozers out here and they were clearing up all the sand," Joel Mclean said.
But after another hard days work, the tide was moving in and threatening to wash that work away.
"This morning while we were out running we saw a lot of crews and it was actually all gone, but then, the tide's coming back in," Maureen Malone explained.
Malone is visiting from Tallahassee. Her parents are in town from California.
"We don't ever get hurricanes. Only earthquakes. So this is pretty cool," the Malones said. "We don't experience this. This is fun."
Fun is one way to put it, especially if you're a surfer. The Malones said most people showed restraint in the water Saturday.
"I don't see any surfers out there," Dennis Malone said. "They're smart. They're smarter on the east coast than the west coast."
Joel Mclean lives down the street. He said the closure of A1A at and around Sunrise Blvd. has been a hassle for the last few days. He said he found an alternate route, but was not willing to share it.
"You have to find the secret passageways to get home. I'm not telling you where that is though," Mclean joked.
Other drivers weren't privy to his secret either. Cops turned them around, causing backups on the bridges.
"Motorists are asked to just be patient with us as we try to assess the situation," Det. Garcia said. "We are working with city crews on scene and the Department of Transportation to make an easier way to access the beach."
In the meantime, drivers are urged to use caution if they do come upon flooding.
"Keep in mind salt water is extremely damaging to any vehicle so we don't want them to push the envelope by trying to drive through the area that are flooded," Det. Garcia explained.
Visitors to the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show are asked to park their vehicles and take a shuttle to the Convention Center or Bahia Mar Yachting Center. The show runs through Monday.
The boat show opened Saturday without a hitch, even though A1A from Bayshore Drive to Northeast 20th Street remained closed due to flooding.
Hollywood Public Works Director Sylvia Glazer told CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald that Sandy caused more beach erosion than Tropical Storm Isaac did two months ago. Crews were removing downed trees and palm fronds that fell during the storm, she said.
(©2012 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald contributed material for this report.)
