MIAMI (WSVN) - When Hurricane Irma hit South Florida exactly one year ago — it turned parts of Downtown Miami into a raging river. Irma’s storm surge has prompted the city to make major improvements. 7’s Katrina Bush has more.
Irma brought wind and rain to South Florida … And water. Lots of water.
Wind driven waves slammed into Dinner Key Marina in Coconut Grove, flooding streets and pounding boats.
Irma wasn’t playing with Ransom Everglades School when her storm surge dumped sand and even boats on the football field.
Resident, during Hurricane Irma: “I knew it was going to be intense but this is, this is pretty crazy.”
What Irma did to Brickell was jaw dropping. Instead of cars, there were white caps on the streets of Downtown Miami. Irma’s 3 to 4 foot storm surge stunning residents.
Resident, during Hurricane Irma: “I certainly didn’t expect Brickell Avenue to be waist deep in water, you know? Used to seeing just traffic backed up here, not Biscayne Bay.”
In the 12 months since Irma, the City of Miami has made a lot of improvements, including adding this second pump station to Brickell. It’s capable of removing 14,000 gallons of water a minute.
Alan Dodd, City of Miami Public Works: “We relooked internally on how we react and revised all of our plants. We’ve looked at infrastructure improvements. We’ve changed the way that we will do debris removal to get them off the roads quicker.”
Irma’s storm surge also left a mark in North Miami. The Oleta River overflowed its banks, becoming an unwelcome visitor to one man’s patio.
Resident, during Hurricane Irma: “That’s the river flowing, that’s the Oleta River flowing. That’s not rain, that’s the river.”
Broward County also had flooding and storm surge. Canals emptied into streets.
Resident, after Hurricane Irma: “I think this is from the surge. That’s my guess. It’s sad. It’s sad when you go further north from here too.”
City, county and state officials say they are doing their part to stem the affects of storm surge, but they can’t stop Mother Nature, so it’s up to residents to listen the warnings.
Jaime Rhome, National Hurricane Center Storm Surge specialist: “This is homework assignment number one: This is the single most important thing you can know in South Florida, is whether you do or do not you live in an evacuation zone.”
And if you do live in an evacuation area, it’s important to know when to go. Your family’s safety could be at stake.
The Atlantic Hurricane Season runs from June 1st to November 30th. Hurricanes are most active in September.
Copyright 2025 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.