Orlando – The first tropical threat from the Florida hurricane season engulfed the state on Friday night, leaving South Florida residents and local authorities to deal with floods, power outages, blocked vehicles and cleaning hours affecting some businesses.
In Miami, drivers encountered torrential rains and flooded streets in the early hours of Saturday morning. The city’s fire department responded to several people caught in cars amid rising waters. Six high-water vehicles are located in the city, the agency said on Twitter. Winds of 40 miles per hour did not meet the threshold required for the system to be classified as tropical storm Alex, but they splashed water in the city center, including in the condominium parking areas.
The storm brought more than 10 inches of rain to Miami in a 72-hour period, according to Accuweather, but other areas, including Key Largo (11 inches) and Biscayne Park (11.6), reported higher amounts. Floods have also been reported in communities outside of Miami, including Hyalia and Hollywood, as well as in Naples, Florida, on the Gulf Coast.
However, the power outages did not increase overnight. As of 9 a.m. Saturday, Miami-Dade County had 4,083 interruptions, according to PowerOutage.us, although that number dropped to 1,310 by 11:30 a.m. The surrounding counties of Broward and Palm Beach reported 985 and 214, respectively.
To the west in Collier County, home to the well-populated Naples, 226 breaks were reported at 9 a.m., but only two by 11:30 p.m. Lee County, further north on the Gulf Coast, had 47. By noon, all tropical warnings had been lifted in most of southwest Florida as the storm hit the treasure coast in the southeast, according to the National Weather Service.
Although meteorologists said the storm was never fully organized as it traveled from the Gulf of Mexico to Keys (it could still intensify when it leaves the Atlantic coast, they said), it doesn’t take much rain to wreak havoc. in Miami – especially on weekends when many are out.
Goncalo Gill, 26, remained inside as the streets were clogged with water in front of his apartment in the Brickell neighborhood of Miami. Mr Gill, a student pilot who posted a video of flooded streets on Twitter, wondered if the city’s flood prevention system, which included rainwater pumps and sea walls, was working as intended. “Everywhere since midnight it has been flooded, every car has stopped,” he said.
Kash Kashmiri, 30, arrived at Total Nutrition in Brickel by 10 a.m. and found a client waiting for him outside. The store manager saw water at the entrance and was worried about letting anyone in. Mr. Kashmiri offered to collect the products the customer needs and make a cash transaction at the front door. The client helped move sandbags while he waited, then paid for an assortment of protein donuts, healthy snacks and energy drinks.
Mr Kashmiri said he had to turn down other customers because they had no cash. But he added that some floods are quite standard in Miami. “Normally there is a strong storm down here, you can expect a slight flood,” he said by phone. “Any kind of tropical storm, you can certainly expect floods.”
More than two hours after his shift, the rain intensified again and he noticed people in the area tying up furniture.
Warnings of ongoing possible weather risks remain over the weekend.
“The main threat right now is the potential for heavy rainfall and flash floods,” said Maria Torres, a spokeswoman for the National Hurricane Center in Miami on Friday.
Early Saturday, the center warned of “significant sudden and urban flooding” in South Florida.
The total rainfall was expected to be high. Western Cuba could see up to 14 inches of rain with the possibility of life-threatening flash floods and landslides, forecasters said. Some areas in the northwestern Bahamas can see up to 10 inches.
The forecast for Florida included the possibility of a tornado over the southern part of the state until Saturday. The hurricane center also said some cities in the state could see a storm of up to three feet.
People living in parts of South Florida that are prone to flooding need to identify a safe place to go if the water starts to rise and be careful not to drive through standing water, Ms Torres said on Friday. .
“Turn around, don’t drown,” she said.
Hurricane Agatha, the first storm in the eastern Pacific, erupted in Mexico this week as a Category 2 storm with torrential rains and destructive winds. It killed at least nine people and left five others unaccounted for, Oaxaca Gov. Alejandro Murat said on Friday morning.
Concerns about dangerous weather in the Atlantic began this week when forecasters said a large disturbance zone associated with Hurricane Agatha had formed near the Yucatan Peninsula and interacted with a higher-level depression over the Gulf of Mexico.
Meteorologists are expecting a season of hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean that will last until November 30, with 14 to 21 so-called storms that are considered probable. Up to 10 of them are expected to reach the strength of the hurricane.
Alanis Thames, Nick Madigan and Jesus Jimenez contributed to the report.
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