FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Fort Lauderdale residents loaded up on free sandbags Tuesday morning ahead of Hurricane Idalia, which is expected to become a Category 3 hurricane by Wednesday.
A Local 10 News crew was in the city where Fort Lauderdale Public Works employees were seen helping out several residents who were loading up on sandbags out of an abundance of precaution.
According to the National Hurricane Center, Idalia could have sustained winds of up to 130 mph, making it a Category 3 hurricane — a potentially big blow to a state still dealing with lingering damage from last year’s Hurricane Ian.
Idalia, now a strengthening hurricane, is making a beeline for Florida’s Big Bend, with devastating impacts forecast as it comes ashore as a major hurricane Wednesday, Local 10′s Hurricane Specialist and Storm Surge Expert Michael Lowry said in Tuesday’s Talking Tropics newsletter.
Broward County is not expected to deal with any major impacts from the storm.
Fort Lauderdale Public Works officials told Local 10 News Tuesday that they’re only expecting about four inches of rain over the next several days, which they say will be no problem for the storm water drainage system if the city sees minor flooding during high tide.
In Miami-Dade County, at a Global Empowerment Mission warehouse in Doral, crews worked diligently to put together as many family kits as they could, to be sent up to the panhandle.
“There is a lot you can do to help,” said Patrick Lynch with Global Empowerment Mission. “Bottled water, non-perishable food items, soap, personal hygiene items toothpaste, tooth brushes.”
Also heading north are first responders from the city of Miami and Miami-Dade County.
“We have about an 80-member team that is going to go with boats, high-water vehicles, canine hazmat team as well as medical staff,” said Miami Fire Rescue Capt. Ignatius Carroll.
Back in Fort Lauderdale, residents say they’re a little on edge after the city received what the National Weather Service called a “1 in 1,000-year flood” in April.
“You don’t want to be in no tragic situation again. We went through it once, we don’t want to do it again. So, take all of the precautions necessary you can,” said Fort Lauderdale resident Larry Freelove.
Many residents like Zachary Bailey waited hours to pick up their bags to make sure their homes are safe.
“We know what hurricanes can do and also what the rain can do so just being a little cautious man, trying to be proactive,” he said.
“Residents are nervous after the April event, but we’re currently not under any hurricane watches or warnings at this point in time and we aren’t going to see any real direct impacts from Idalia,” said Fort Lauderdale Assistant Public Works Director Dr. Nancy Gassman. “But what we will see is the potential for a little bit of wind and maybe some microbursts, some more intense rainstorms that may happen.”
Throughout the region, the South Florida Water Management District has lowered major canal levels slightly, making sure there’s enough capacity for any rain, especially since we are in king tide season.
The good news is for the Southeast coast we’re not expecting significant rainfall so they’re just slightly below average for this time of year and then after the storm passes, we’ll bring them back to their normal operating range,” said Sean Cooley, of the South Florida Water Management District.
A spokesperson with the City of Fort Lauderdale told Local 10 News that they’ve done a lot of mitigation since the historic flooding in April. Crew members have added additional auxiliary water pumps throughout the area. They have also added more signs to warn people about areas that are prone to flooding.