CUTLER BAY, FLA. (WSVN) - Officials with the South Florida Water Management District are preparing for heavy rainfall in Cutler Bay, a Miami-Dade town known for flooding.
Cutler Bay Mayor Tim Meerbot addressed flooding concerns on Monday.
“Anytime we have any significant rain event coming, we want to make sure we’re in the best position possible to handle the rain,” he said.
The South Florida Water Management District has been focused on the town’s coastal structure ahead of the rain Hurricane Ian may send its way.
“It creates capacity for storm water in the canal systems in Miami-Dade County,” said Regional Representative Armando Vilaboy with the South Florida Water Management District.
Crews have been moving water out before more comes into the area.
“What you’re seeing here is the gates being raised in order to move water and create capacity for storm water in the Miami-Dade County canal system,” said Vilaboy.
Vilaboy said their efforts help prevent flooding and minimize it in other areas.
“We’ve been drawing these canals down since last Friday. All the canals in Miami-Dade County are currently in the low range for the expected rainfall,” he said. “We are expected to receive rain from Hurricane Ian. Even though it’s far away, we are expected to see significant rains.”
A few months ago, areas like Saga Bay experienced significant flooding after it rained.
Officials said, while it’s not connected to the canal system, they brought in pumps to help.
For this system, officials continue to try to get ahead of any issues that may arise throughout the county, including dealing with king tides.
“We have all seen the bands, and some bands can dump a lot of rain on you and some don’t, so I don’t have any estimates right now on how much rain we can expect,” said Meerbot. “I do believe they’re not expecting the 26 inches we got a couple of months ago. It will be less than that, but we still have to be ready for whatever it brings.”
Officials said they want people to know they’re on top of the situation.
“I want to make sure they they know that we’re doing everything possible to put us in the best position to handle any water that may come,” said Meerbot.
Officials in Cutler Bay had cleaned out the storm drains ahead of Hurricane Ian, which has proven to be a great help as certain neighborhoods, like Saga Bay, have not had any issues. They said the storm drains have been working so far.
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