MIAMI (WSVN) - Residents in both Miami-Dade and Broward County are facing flooding concerns due to the King Tides.
Roadways and residential streets have been left flooded the past few days, and the tidal trouble is expected to continue through Thursday.
Colton Richardson of Fort Lauderdale paddleboarded through his neighborhood on Tuesday.
“It’s pretty wild, honestly,” said Richardson.
Across the street lives Marilyn Sersled, who said she has been witnessing the water rising over time.
“I sit out here and watch the water all the time,” said Sersled. “I don’t ever remember it being this high.”
Pumps are being used to pour water back into the intercoastal waterway in Hollywood.
Sea walls along Cordova Road and Ninth Street in Fort Lauderdale remained submerged on Wednesday afternoon before high tide.
Resident Jerry Madden has lived just off Cordova Road since the 1980s, which was hard to spot from 7Skyforce on Wednesday.
“The water’s creeping up on us,” he said. “There’s no doubt about that. You can’t deny that. The ocean is moving in closer. This has always been an area that’s flooded just because it’s low, and the water comes up.”
7Skyforce captured waves encroaching into a building along the shore in Hollywood Beach. Aerial cameras also showed waves crashing onto the shore and into the trees at Mizell Johnson State Park in Dania Beach.
“We just had beach re-nourishment down there,” Madden said. “It took like a couple of months to do it, but that’s all washed away — the whole thing, and nobody’s seen the ocean that high down there. The seas are getting higher, and it’s obvious. These king tides are proof of that, so some day, this may be what it looks like here permanently.”
In Miami, pumps are also being used to try to lessen the high level of water, but the flooding in Shorecrest is so high that there is nowhere to put the excess water.
Karen Flanagan has lived off Cordova Road since 1964.
“This is as high as I have ever seen [the water]. I mean, this far into here,” Flanagan said.
When it comes to what is causing the flooding conditions, some residents are at odds.
“I think this is sea level rise,” said Fort Lauderdale City Commissioner Ben Sorenson. “I think we’re continuing to see sea level rise and climate change, and this is some of the impact we’re facing, so as a city we’ve got to be proactive.”
“We’ve never seen it like this,” said one Fort Lauderdale resident.
When asked if he attributed the high water levels to sea level rise he responded, “That I don’t know. That’s what everybody says, but the bottom line is that all these sea walls have to be built up. The city has been talking about that for years, so it needs to happen.”
The king tides are forecast to continue until Thursday.
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