FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – There are flooding concerns throughout South Florida as Hurricane Ian brings heavy rain to the area, coinciding with king tides.
“You take the good, you take the bad,” one employee at Elbo Room in Fort Lauderdale told Local 10 News Tuesday.
Staff at businesses in low-lying areas say so far, Tuesday morning’s high water level hasn’t seemed particularly unique compared to the king tides they’ve seen in years prior, even with the added rain.
“If it rains, like, for another 24 hours, I have sandbags here that I put up,” business owner Adam Burke said.
Burke, of Grandiose Real Estate, another business in Fort Lauderdale, stressed the importance of preparation.
“I always check the city website, so they post the dates for king tide or high tide and then I keep my eye on the weather,” he said.
Inside the city’s Rio Vista neighborhood, water saturated the streets.
“I am concerned about the timing of the hurricane and kind tides,” said resident Suzanne Migdall. “Right now it seems to be okay.”
Drivers on Las Olas Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale were in several inches of water Tuesday morning as they approached the isle neighborhoods toward the beach.
Normally busy A1A was also soaked, as was Cordova Road, which is prone to flooding.
“Some of these streets, these waters are high,” tow truck driver Tim told Local 10 News. “You do not know how high (the water) is. If you go all the way down, you find yourself in the middle of it, open your door, all of a sudden you just got a bath because water rushes inside.”
Video from Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue shows a soaked roadway in the Kinney Tunnel as drivers approached cautiously. The northbound lanes of the tunnel were closed Tuesday afternoon due to the water.
The area is expected to get anywhere from four to eight inches of rain.
Several days of king tides are expected this week. The next high tide will take place after 10:30 p.m. Tuesday.
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