(WSVN) - Several areas of Miami-Dade and Broward counties are battling floodwaters due to Tropical Storm Eta, which is expected to impact the area throughout the day, Monday.
7News cameras captured a residential street in the Melrose Park neighborhood inundated with floodwater, Sunday afternoon.
“It was bad,” Mike Williams, a Fort Lauderdale resident, said. “You can’t even get to your house, man. When I pulled up, I was, like, I was just shocked.”
Fort Lauderdale officials said they have around 23 vacuum trucks driving around the area. They said the trucks are visiting as many drains as possible and clear them out to help drain the floodwater as quickly as possible.
Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis described the current conditions as a 100-year rain event while explaining to residents that the floodwater may remain for several days after the storm passes. With weeks of rain leading up to the storm, the flooding has become a major concern.
“Once the ground becomes saturated, there’s really no place for the water to go,” Trantalis said. “It’s not like a major hurricane. It’s more of a rain event, and we’re just doing our best to ensure that the people in our community are being protected.”
At Cooley’s Landing Marina, the roads were washed out, and there’s no telling where the pavement ends and the marina begins.
Some residents said they cannot get home after they left their home ahead of the heavy rainfall. When they tried to return home, they said they could not travel the flooded roadways.
“Well, I’ve seen it before like this a couple of years back, but I thought they fixed all the drainage and stuff, but I guess not,” Williams said.
7News cameras captured floodwater creeping up to a Fort Lauderdale home’s garage as rain continued to fall.
“Broward County remains under a local state of emergency,” Broward County Mayor Dale Holness said during a press conference. “You stay inside unless you really have to go outside. Avoid those flooded areas.”
Also, some access roads at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport have been flooded out.
In Hollywood, several roadways east of U.S. 1 and south of Sheridan Street can be seen inundated with ankle-deep floodwater. City trucks are patrolling some of the more flooded streets to help pump out the water.
There are also pumps throughout the neighborhood that are supposed to get the water off the street and into the storm drain that leads into the Intracoastal. 7News cameras captured the water cresting the sea wall Sunday night, but high tide has not yet arrived.
In Lauderdale Lakes, near Northwest 44th Avenue and 29th Street, several vehicles could be seen wading through several inches of floodwater.
Meanwhile, in Miami, floodwater up to a foot deep could be seen in the area of North Bayshore Drive and 79th Street, but it has since began to recede.
Floating debris, including leaves, traffic cones and personal protective equipment, was also reported in the area.
“My entire outfit is soaked to the brim from this storm,” Dani Kroesche said. “I can’t believe we are at Eta already, like, so many storms this season.”
In the Edgewater neighborhood, cars could be seen parked in standing water, and the strong winds caused the water to ripple.
It was a similar situation in Opa-Locka, where cars could be seen traversing the standing water.
Motorists are urged not to drive down streets inundated with floodwater, as their vehicles may become stranded.
In Miami Beach, crews put up flood barriers ahead of Eta’s winds and rain.
“We’re prepared for the worst,” one crewmember said.
Storm preparation crews also installed eight temporary pumps and six temporary generators along Eighth Street and West Avenue.
Miami Beach’s city attractions remain closed to the public.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez said officials will revisit the matter on Tuesday morning to determine a reopening date.
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