SOUTH MIAMI, FLA. (WSVN) - A large scale clean-up effort is underway in a South Miami neighborhood after a massive tree came crashing down during Sunday’s storm.
Roberto Elizondo said he was inside his home on Southwest 63rd Avenue off 74th Street when he heard a loud noise, but didn’t presume it to be much due to the heavy downpours.
To his surprise, he would find his car smashed by the tree.
“I was in the room, I had the tv on, it was raining. I did hear like a thump, but didn’t make much of it,” said Elizondo. “When it died down, I walked out and the tree was right there in my face.”
The storm was so powerful that it completely up-rooted the large tree from the ground, causing it to partially fall onto his home and on top of his car.
“It’s one of those things that— I mean luckily no one was out here,” he said.
Arborist Ron von Paulus with Big Ron’s Tree Service is tasked with cleaning up the mess. He estimates the tree is at least 60 to 80 years old and said yesterday’s fast flooding is likely to blame.
“That little bit of soil is just super saturated and is no longer holding on to the roots,” he said. “So you can have a 40, 50-mile-an-hour wind on a big sail like the canopy of this tree, when the roots aren’t grabbing — because right this moment, there’s so much water in the ground — and it just falls over.”
While the street was left shutdown for hours on Sunday, it has since reopened.
“The city manager was here last night, talked to him and they are assessing the whole situation,” said Elizondo.
As of late Monday afternoon, the focus now is clearing the rest of the debris from Elizondo’s property.
Meantime, drivers saw a messy commute for drivers getting home. Across Broward County, heavy rain and wind flooded some streets and made the roadways unclear to see.
Up north in Palm Beach County, video shared with 7News shows pieces of hail falling on the patio of a homeowner.
The bad weather also impacted local airports. Flights were delayed for up to 132 minutes at Miami International Airport.
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