Scattered showers and thunderstorms have been developing across inland portions of South Florida and were moving toward the east coast Sunday night, according to the National Weather Service.
The weather service said Sunday that areas hit hard by last week’s flooding were at risk of potential localized urban flooding. Sunday evening, it issued a severe thunderstorm warning for areas in western Palm Beach County.
As of late Sunday night, Fort Lauderdale had avoided the brunt of the anticipated rainfall.
“While uncertain, there is also the potential for an additional round of strong to severe thunderstorms across our area late tonight into tomorrow morning,” the agency said.
Broward Schools tweeted Sunday that it plans to resume normal operations on Monday.
“All school campuses and administrative offices will be open. Afterschool care, events and activities will also operate on a normal schedule,” the tweet read.
Recovery ramp up
Recovery efforts continued Sunday across Fort Lauderdale.
The city said in a Facebook post Sunday that it is working with Florida Power & Light to restore power, but that crews must first go block to block to check for electrocution hazards. The city said those checks were in progress and that crews would proceed with “an abundance of caution.”
The city added that crews were working to clear the roads and drain standing water.
The city has been pumping streets overnight, with 27 trucks deployed throughout the city on Sunday, though some areas remain submerged in 2 to 3 feet of water. It said each truck had a capacity to collect 2,500-5,000 gallons at a time.
The city said in a release Sunday that the Red Cross reunification center at Holiday Park exceeded its capacity of 100 individuals overnight, and that a secondary shelter has been established at the First Presbyterian Church at 451 Tarpon Terrace in Fort Lauderdale.
Three “comfort stations” were open Sunday in the areas with the most need. The stations will provide regular meals, places to rest, charging ports, and portable bathrooms. Shower units are being installed Sunday afternoon, the city said.
Those shelters are located at:
Shirley Small Park – 1230 SW 34th Ave Fort Lauderdale, 33312
Broward County Fleet Service Center – 2515 SW 4th Ave, Fort Lauderdale
Provident Park – 1412 NW 6th St, Fort Lauderdale, 33311 (serving food only)
Since the influx of calls for service — numbering over 5,000 in the past three days — the city of Fort Lauderdale is now seeing fewer and fewer calls, mostly about sanitation and trash.
It remained unclear this weekend whether Fort Lauderdale residents with flooded homes will receive any money from the federal government, but officials said Saturday they should temper their expectations.
At a Saturday evening press conference outside the Holiday Park shelter for displaced residents, city and state officials urged residents with more than 36 inches of flooding — about the same height as their doorknobs — to document their homes in hopes that the Federal Emergency Management Agency will declare an emergency.
To qualify for aid, the city has to cross a “monetary threshold,” Trantalis said Saturday, and he was not sure whether it would. Teams from FEMA will come to Fort Lauderdale this coming week to assess the level of damage, conducting a Joint Damage Assessment.
Officials will need to document sufficient levels of damage in at least 400 homes to meet the bottom of the threshold for individual assistance. The city urged residents with 12 or more inches of flood water inside their home to document damages with photos and call the damage hotline at 954-828-8000. Once the report process is initiated, the city will give residents an email address to which they can send photos.
The state is currently in talks with FEMA, Kevin Guthrie, Florida’s director of Emergency Management said Saturday. But he said it was important for residents to understand that, even if that aid comes, it may not be anywhere near enough to recover what they have lost.
The average payout for a person in Florida during disasters is around $4,000, Guthrie said. The maximum is around $37,000.
The city is also looking at alternatives if FEMA decides not to declare an emergency. That aid will mainly come through nonprofits, Guthrie said, such as Team Rubicon. The organizations can help people repair their homes, providing equipment like dehumidifiers, though they will not offer financial aid.
In Edgewood, the city has fully restored power and provided two station pumps and two trucks to remove water, which was still knee-high in some areas on Friday. The water level has receded enough overnight that car travel is possible, Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue Chief Stephen Gollan said Saturday.
A fleet of debris-removal trucks will begin circulating throughout the city on Monday, with full deployment by Wednesday. The trucks will operate through Friday, April 21st. The city suggests placing debris between the sidewalk and roadway, and avoid blocking drains. Do not put debris in bags, and separate it into two piles:
Construction and demolition debris includes building materials, carpets, drywall, mattresses, furniture and lumber
Appliance and white goods debris includes air conditioners, washers, dryers, water heaters, refrigerators and the like.
On Sunday, the city tweeted that businesses damaged by the flooding should report their physical and economic impacts through the Business Damage Assessment Survey at floridadisaster.biz/BusinessDamageAssessments. Businesses seeking resources can call 850-815-4925.
There has been no loss of life, Trantalis said Saturday.
The city will continue working to document residents who may be overlooked, or who aren’t aware of who to call. Crews will do a more exhaustive GIS assessment in coming days.
“Not everyone’s watching TV, especially if you have a flooded home,” Trantalis said.
At the Saturday press conference, Dawn Beemer, a resident of the hard-hit Lauder Lakes manufactured home park, emerged from the Holiday Park shelter where she has been staying to ask whether FEMA would decide that the flooded areas are “big enough” for aid. Beemer sustained serious flood damage to her own home, and her neighbors are likely now homeless. None of them have flood insurance.
“We don’t want to feel like we’re not big enough,” she said.
Officials urge Fort Lauderdale residents in need of assistance to contact Customer Service at 954-828-8000.
