High tides flooded streets and docks in Miami Beach on Tuesday, with water from the Intracoastal Waterway spilling over the seawall into sidewalks and roadways during the early morning and morning hours.
Strong winds bent palm trees across the city as the water rose. Chavia Shields, a Miami Beach resident, said she felt like she was walking inside the canal and that the gusts pushed her forward. Residents are used to flooding, she said, but this event was different.
The rising water made it hard for boaters to reach their vessels. One man had to carry his shoes and walk barefoot through the flood. Within about an hour, the water reached 9 inches.
Video from Sky 10 showed a northeast Miami-Dade neighborhood completely covered by water, with no clear way for the saltwater to drain. City buses pushed water along Collins Avenue, and driving through the flooded streets was risky.
A resident who identified himself only as Gil said the saltwater is a nuisance because passing cars splash it everywhere, and he warned that it could rust the undersides of vehicles.
