MIAMI (WSVN) - Drivers in the Wynwood, Downtown and Brickell area are probably better off in a boat after a heavy rains resulted in flooding, Tuesday.
It may start as a drizzle, but when it pours, it floods in Miami.
“I couldn’t even get out because the door’s were stuck,” said an Uber driver.
And this isn’t a one-off deal.
“Our community can’t access our synagogue, all the time, because of the water,” said a man.
“We’ve already identified that we have some areas that need upgrades,” said Juvenal Santana, City of Miami’s Director of Public Works.
Santana said the City of Miami has a drainage problem with no easy fix.
“When you’re close to the water, and you’re in low-lying areas, there’s only so much that can be done,” said Santana.
That’s bad news for Brickell Dental Care. Practice Manager Jonathan Chiscul said he’s seen drivers stranded and people injured from the front desk.
“She fell inside. Her whole body went inside the water,” said Chiscul.
He was stuck at work for three hours after closing time to deal with flooding in the dental office.
“The water from yesterday was actually raising up to here,” said Chiscul. “The water came all the way to the back, and if you see over here, we have expensive equipment.”
In the three months since they’ve opened shop here, they’ve learned to stay prepared.
“We have to have the sandbags ready,” said Chiscul. “I expect a little bit more for the Brickell area.”
Santana said the city is working to meet those expectations. It recently secured funding for its storm water master plan.
The multimillion dollar project will upgrade old drainage systems, add new pump stations in Edgewater, Wynwood and Brickell and better connect the ones already in place so water drains faster.
“There was a new drainage pump system that was put in place and is active,” said Chiscul. “We are now building the infrastructure that’s going to connect to that station.”
Until the project’s complete, Santana said, “So if you know that you’re in an area that’s prone to flooding, is if you got a car that’s going to be parked on the street, park that car a few blocks away.”
Public Works officials expect to have those high priority projects underway this year. They hope to have that third pump station in Brickell completed by the end of the year.
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