Flooding Forces Road Closures In Broward
OAKLAND PARK (CBS4) – Wednesday's wet weather left a mess throughout Broward County, especially in Oakland Park.
City officials said they were forced to close six streets including NE 3rd Avenue between NE 41 Street and NE 40 Street.
More than 5 inches of rain fell in their city, officials said, leaving roads flooded, making travel difficult and giving some kids a reason to get soaked as they played in the water with buckets and balls.
While they had fun, others said all this water made for a mess.
"Probably the worst I've seen," said one property owner.
Just east of Andrews Avenue near NE 40 Court, the streets were nearly impassable for most of the day.
By afternoon the waters receded slightly but residents say that only exposed all the garbage on the ground.
"Trash everywhere," said Gio Vasquez."You can see in the front of my house."
Gio Vasquez was preparing to start cleaning it all up. His neighbors said this area is prone to flooding.
"This is the low level ground in Oakland Park and the city ain't paying much attention to it," said Phillip McClure.
Others believe the city needs to do more to fix the situation.
"There must be some kind of drainage," said Pat Potrell. "A solution some way, somehow."
City officials said they have spent millions to address the problems but Oakland Park sits in a low lying area and flooding is an issue.
All the rain also created problems in Fort Lauderdale, Hallandale Beach, Wilton Manors and lots of other Broward cities but many are trying to take it in stride.
"It's just one of those things," Potrell said. "It just goes with the territory."
A city official told CBS 4 News the city has spent more than $70 million dollars over the past 5 years to improve drainage in the city and that without that work the situation Wednesday could have been a lot worse.
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