Rising water from a king tide flooded parts of Miami-Dade and Broward counties over the weekend, and residents are worried about what the repeated flooding will do to the shoreline. On Tuesday morning, crews in Broward were trying to move a lifeguard station away from the water, while motorists on A1A waded through flooded roads that have been a problem since the weekend. Near Hollywood Boulevard, crews pumped water off the pavement.
Irene Manno, who has lived on the beach in Hollywood for about 16 years and has visited for 47, said each storm and king tide brings the water closer to her property. She said she expects to spend time clearing out her drains. An aerial view showed the tide reaching the patios of neighboring homes. Manno said a seawall separates her property from the sand, so she is not overly worried about her home itself.
Jason Box, a climatology professor at Nova Southeastern University, said king tide season has grown longer over recent decades because of sea level rise. He said high tides have risen by about a foot since 1993. Box said beach renourishment and artificial reefs could help in the long term, and he noted that beaches are getting narrower and steeper. Some of those steep drop-offs, known as cliffing, have warning signs posted for swimmers.
According to experts, more than half of the shorelines around the country are considered critically eroded. Manno said she hopes officials will expand efforts to protect the sand, though she is not sure what the solution should be.
