Fort Lauderdale was the target of an intense “1000-year” rainstorm that flooded homes, streets and neighborhoods last year.
Residents of Broward County’s largest city didn’t have to wait long for the next deluge.
In June, a storm dumped up to 20 inches of rain in 48 hours in parts of south Broward, overwhelming drainage systems from Fort Lauderdale to Hallandale Beach and beyond and forcing a portion of Interstate 95 to remain closed for more than five hours .
Now Mayor Dean Trantalis and his colleagues on stage are calling on everyone to brace for the next big storm.
“We are one hurricane away from flooding these neighborhoods again,” said Commissioner Warren Sturman. “I think we need to do everything we can to make sure we’re prepared when it rains again — and it will.”
Vice Mayor Steve Glassman warned that the recent flash floods are a sign of things to come. “More rain in a shorter time is exactly what science tells us to expect more of – and regardless of the science, as we grow we need to find smarter places for the water to flow,” he says. said at a recent town hall meeting.
Glassman called on city leaders to lead the way in finding solutions, even when it comes to the county’s flood-prone airport. The airport is owned and operated by the county, but is located in three cities: Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood and Dania Beach.
“How many times does the airport have to close because of flooding until you realize it’s a real problem and actually do something about it?” Glasman said. “How many times does the airport staff parking lot have to be flooded before they realize they are impacting our residents?”
Trantalis warned that neighborhoods like Edgewood and River Oaks are doomed to flooding, in part because they are so close to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and absorb runoff from the airport and Interstate 595.
“We could put the most advanced drainage system in Edgewood and it would still flood,” Trantalis said.
The airport, which is among the nation’s most vulnerable to flooding from storms and sea level rise, can handle 18 inches of rain in three days. In April 2023, it was hit by 26 inches in 12 hours.
The airport was inundated by floods and had to close for two days in April 2023.
The latest deluge in June did not shut down the airport, but it did lead to dozens of flights being canceled and delayed.
Preparing for the new reality
Trantalis says the county should install better drainage at the airport to help protect nearby neighborhoods.
“When the airport begins to collect water, it flows into Osceola Creek, a gravity-driven path that allows water to flow to the other waterways,” he said. “And if it doesn’t have enough capacity, it overflows into the neighborhoods that are very close to that creek.”
Broward officials are well aware that flooding is a problem and will only get worse, said Steve Geller, county commissioner and chairman of the county’s water advisory board.
“We’re doing everything we can,” Geller said. “Historically, the canals empty into the Intracoastal or the New River. Eventually the water ends up in the ocean. But over the past thirty years the ocean has risen.”
In ten to twelve years, ocean waters will be at the same level as inland waters, Geller says.
“That means when it rains, there is no more drainage,” he said. “There is a way to solve this. The U.S. Army Corps owns the canals. They need huge pumps to pump the water uphill and they need higher banks or sea walls on their canals so you can put more water in.”
That will cost an estimated $10 billion and take at least 10 years, Geller said.
“We hope the Army Corps pays half,” Geller said. “We could have the South Florida Water Management District pay 25 percent and the county would pay 25 percent. We would have to implement a special tax or something. But we have to do something.”
Fort Lauderdale still has a lot of work to do to prepare for the “new reality” of a world experiencing significant climate change, Trantalis told residents in a newsletter sent out last week.
Trantalis commended Fort Lauderdale’s public works team and emergency response personnel for their quick action to address the heavy rain by deploying 25 temporary pumps and 15 vacuum trucks to protect the city’s most vulnerable neighborhoods.
“The rainfall is another indicator of the need for the city to aggressively move forward with planned upgrades to our stormwater drainage system and flood controls,” he said. “Unfortunately, many of our lowest-lying neighborhoods were built decades ago without any drainage systems or with systems that can barely handle the smallest storms. The work to modernize these systems will take years, but we are well on our way.”
No quick fix
Fort Lauderdale is embarking on a five-year, $200 million plan to improve drainage in seven of the city’s most flood-prone areas: Edgewood, River Oaks, Dorsey Riverbend, Durrs, Progresso, Victoria Park and Southeast Isles.
After last year’s record-breaking rainstorm flooded streets and homes, the city added another seventeen neighborhoods to the list. The following areas are expected to receive $500 million in stormwater upgrades over the next decade: Riverland Landings, Sailboat Bend, Tarpon River, Flagler Village, Harbor Isles/Inlet, Poinsettia Heights, South Middle River, Melrose Park, Shady Banks, Croissant Park, Middle River Terrace, Imperial Point, Lake Ridge, Riverland Manors/Woods, Chula Vista, Riverland Village and Lauderdale Isles.
“Our goal is to ensure that all new stormwater infrastructure can withstand up to 10 inches of rain in a 24-hour period, a significant improvement over previous standards,” the mayor said.
Fort Lauderdale spent $14.5 million on stormwater upgrades in Edgewood, installing 8.5 miles of new stormwater pipe. The lines in both neighborhoods won’t work until crews install high-capacity pump stations. That work should be done in December.
To help reduce flooding in Edgewood, the city removed an overgrowth of invasive trees that was blocking water flow in Osceola Creek. Now crews are dredging 1,500 linear feet of the creek.
The $6.5 million project started last year and is nearing completion, the mayor said. The work is focused on a portion of the creek located south of State Road 84 near Edgewood.
Last week, Sturman conducted an impromptu post-mortem on the recent rainstorm.
“I feel bad for my neighborhood because we always get hit,” Sturman said. “The two worst neighborhoods are Edgewood and River Oaks. Everyone blames Fort Lauderdale leadership, but Oakland Park Boulevard on I-95 was flooded. Brightline couldn’t get into Dade County. Aventura was flooded.”
Sturman asked Public Works Director Alan Dodd to talk about what went wrong and what went right.
Dodd told commissioners that the city was somewhat overwhelmed because weather forecasters had not predicted all of the rain that ultimately fell.
“We knew going into that week that we were going to have some heavy rain,” Dodd said. “And we were doing all the preparatory things we had to do to get ready for the heavier rain. Our system is designed to handle approximately 3 to 3 inches of rain over a 24-hour period.”
Forecasters are wrong
On Wednesday, June 12, the forecast called for 2 to 2.5 inches of rain over a 24-hour period, Dodd said. But that day, 9 to 11 inches of rain fell in various parts of the city over the course of about 12 hours.
“That goes well beyond the capacity that the stormwater system can handle,” Dodd said. “We had already warned contractors on Wednesday afternoon and they started using temporary pumps. And we were putting people in danger by putting them on the road where everyone else was trying to travel at the same time.
Fort Lauderdale had 20 vacuum trucks on standby and didn’t send them out “because it costs money” and the June 12 forecast called for only 2 to 6 inches of rain, Dodd said.
When it became clear that the prediction was wrong, the plan was changed.
The next morning, June 13, the city deployed 15 vacuum trucks and 15 pumps to low-lying neighborhoods, Dodd told the committee.
Sturman spoke highly of council staff, saying they had done an excellent job dealing with the flooding and helping residents.
“I know everyone is frustrated, but I want to … thank Alan (Dodd), the police and fire department and especially my staff. We didn’t sleep a wink for 48 hours.”
Not everyone thinks the city has done so well.
Ted Inserra, president of the River Oaks Civic Association and one of four candidates challenging Sturman in the upcoming November election, said the city should have deployed temporary pumps before the storm.
“They brought the pumps in after the storm passed,” Inserra said. ‘They should have been there before the flood happened. We had water in houses. Sturman said he and his staff had not slept for 24 hours. Neither did the residents who had water in their homes.”
Susannah Bryan can be reached at sbryan@sunsentinel.com. Follow me on X @Susannah_Bryan
