Photo by: Local10
The Biscayne Lake Gardens condominium complex remained flooded Thursday in Aventura after record rain Wednesday in South Florida. Some were underinsured. Others were caught off guard.
Sherri Baker moved to the community from Ocala to be close to her grandchildren. She was among the first-floor apartment residents who did not expect the flooding.
Baker has a view of the community’s lake. Just like many in the area, she had trouble sleeping as the water kept rising. Some neighbors checked up on each other.
“I have talked to like three different families on the same level that I am and they said … a couple of years ago when a hurricane came by, they said the same thing happened with the flood,” Baker said.
The Aventura Police Department issued a “flood alert” Thursday morning asking drivers to avoid flooded streets. City officials asked residents to avoid 213 Street at 34 Avenue, and 191st Street and warned tow truck drivers were at work.
At Baker’s apartment, a man used a large vacuum to collect water from her living room floor on Thursday. She placed some things high on the table and raised a mattress. And while Aventura had already gotten record rain, a flood watch remained in effect.
The water level appeared to go up on Thursday afternoon. Children played with bicycles and two floated on an inflatable mattress. Long-time residents believe that since there is so much cement, there is no place for the water to go.
Aventura Mayor Howard Weinberg released a video on social media Thursday afternoon.
“In the month of June, we typically average about nine inches of rain,” Weinberg said in the video. “In the last 24 hours, we got more than 12 inches. To put that in context, we got 33% more rain yesterday alone than we normally do in the entire month.”
Weinberg also visited the Biscayne Lake Gardens community.
“There are fixed pumps, we keep adding to them,” Weinberg said. “We put it in the budget every year for more.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis and Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava declared a state of emergency on Wednesday afternoon.
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Source: Local10
