MIAMI – Despite the worst of Hurricane Nicole being forecast to hit well north of Miami-Dade County, businesses in Miami’s flood-prone Brickell neighborhood are preparing for heavy rain.
City officials also brought out pumps to move water out of the lowest-lying areas.
“We’re just gonna hang out until the roads become rivers, because once it gets too flooded, you can’t leave,” James Mack, owner of James Mack Custom Jewelry, said. “We’re hoping it’s not bad in Brickell; we need the business because it’s the slow season and it’s been really slow.”
Several business owners along 10th Street had sandbags at the ready for rising waters.
“10th Street is like notorious for flooding,” Victoria Arias, with Face Brow & Beauty Bar, said.
Many in the area have learned the hard way what happens if they don’t prepare.
“In the last storm we had like two feet of drywall that needed to be removed and we had to close for two days, so it was really bad,” Arias said.