State agencies assisting in response to storms in South Florida

Florida – In reaction to the extreme weather that hit South Florida this week and left the area submerged in floodwaters, Gov. Ron DeSantis stated that state agencies are working with local authorities.

Following a briefing on the reaction, DeSantis gave a news conference Friday morning at a Hollywood Fire Rescue station.

Since Tuesday, more than a foot and a half of rain has fallen in some parts of South Florida, resulting in extensive flooding that has submerged streets and seriously damaged automobiles and homes.

“We had a very very dry spell, you look like the Everglades was really parched, there had not been much, and so the area held a lot of it but it just was so much inundation in such a short period of time that you ended up having this,” DeSantis said.

Due to the intense rain that flooded the area on Wednesday, DeSantis announced a state of emergency for Miami-Dade, Broward, and other Florida counties.

The heavy rains that started on Tuesday and lasted till Wednesday caused delays for flights at two of the biggest airports in the state as well as flooded and stopped cars on some of the lowest-lying streets in the area.

With 19.10 inches of rain by Thursday morning, Hollywood is among the places in the area that have experienced the greatest rain.

Although things had improved, several locations still had standing water, according to DeSantis.

“Obviously the water has receded a lot compared to where it was and the worst of it,” he said.

Homeowners also inquired about the kind of assistance that the governor would provide.

Emergency personnel estimated that roughly 1,000 homes would need to sustain significant damage, and we are far from that number. Although there haven’t been any reports of demolished properties in Broward County yet, crews are still analyzing the damage, with roughly 100 homes in Hollywood currently affected.

“We don’t think there’s going to be enough damage to necessarily qualify for a federal disaster declaration but there may be enough damage with small businesses because the threshold is different where we can unlock some assistance for small businesses,” he said.

Even lesser quantities of precipitation might affect areas that are already saturated, leading to flash floods on Friday before the area has a chance to recover, the National Weather Service warned.

DeSantis reported that the state has about ninety water pumps that were either in use or available and that many state agencies were ready to help with any further rainfall.

“I told everybody, we definitely have to make sure on Saturday night the streets are good so everyone can celebrate the Florida Panthers winning the Stanley Cup,” DeSantis said.