Days after Tropical system, Cutler Bay continues to deal with flooded streets

CUTLER BAY – Residents nonetheless dealing with flooded streets exterior of their houses in Cutler Bay’s Saga Bay neighborhood following heavy rain over the weekend. 

“It’s worse back there,” mentioned one driver as they rigorously maneuvered via the flooded roadway.

Scott Hewes and Susan Starnes informed CBS4’s Peter D’Oench that that they had to stroll out of their Saga Bay neighborhood as a result of they may not use their vehicles.

Hewes mentioned, “This has been crazy. I have never seen so much water and I have lived here since 1975. We are blocked in.” 

Starnes mentioned, “This is insane. I have been water like this before.”

Drone video supplied by the Town of Cutler Bay highlights the issue space close to 207th Street alongside 79th courtroom, which leads to Saga Bay Lake the place officers say the issue stemmed from.

The lake overflowed on Saturday and once more Monday, inflicting water to inundate the encircling neighborhood.

“It started Saturday night, and then it stopped last night and it went down but then it started up again. Now it’s right back to where it was,” mentioned Neil Blake, who has lived within the space for 8 years.

“It gets really bad here, as you can see from my feet,” mentioned Neil Blake, who tried to stroll via the flooded streets however had to flip again after the water went over his knees.

Cutler Bay Mayor Tim Meerbott mentioned, “15 inches of rain over such a short period of time is something that I have never seen before, We are securing as many pumps as possible and are working with the South Florida Water Management District but the bottom line is we have to rely on gravity. We can’t remove that much water with the pumps.”

“The District did open the gates with low tide. Our priority now is taking care of residents. This is the worst flooding we have seen since 2005. All this building means there is less opportunity for water to recede into the ground. We are urging people to avoid driving in these flooded areas and if they need help urgently in terms of getting out, they should call 911.”

Meerbott mentioned there are 589 houses in Saga Bay.

Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava took a tour of Saga Bay in a high-axel, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue flood response automobile and noticed the flooding firsthand throughout her tour.

“This is very scary and sobering,” she mentioned. “These homes are built higher after Hurricane Andrew so we so not see a lot of damage to the homes but the roads are completely flooded and the lake is over the banks and the electricity and the phones are on but access is really really difficult. We are working with the town ad the South Florida Water Management District but the bottom line is that this is very low ground and it’s difficult to pump all the water. Some water is being pumped into the mangroves. It has already receded a little bit and we are making progress. We need long-term solutions here. We have made changes in the infrastructure but we need to do much more.”

CBS4 News was on the scene as a number of automobiles had been towed away after stalling out within the flood waters alongside SW eighty fifth avenue. One man had to hire to truck from Home Depot simply to make it to his dwelling.

“It’s disgusting really, look at all the people who live here and their yards are underwater,” mentioned Blake.

A landscaping crew supplied CBS4 News with cellphone video that exhibits Saga Lake Park, which sits subsequent to Saga Lake, utterly underwater.

Residents say they’re involved the world could also be hit even more durable if a stronger system rolls via.