Floods hit parts of Miami by Steph Ball
Torrential rain has hit parts of southern Florida, flooding parts of Miami and also affecting the power supply to a number of homes. Some parts of the county received up to 7 inches of rain over 9 hours on Sunday morning, with North Miami Beach recording the highest total. Many roads were closed off as a number of fatal car accidents took place over the course of the day.
South Florida is in the midst of an 18 month drought which contributed to the extensive floods, as the ground was so parched it was unable to absorb much of the rain fall. Randy Smith from the Water Management District says “this is one of the most severe droughts that we have dating back to when records started in the early 1990’s.”
Despite the downpour, the rain has done little to alleviate drought in the area as the rain has mainly fallen along the coast instead of inland where it was desperately needed. Weather Service Meteorologist Bob Ebaugh explains “this is probably going to have very little effect on the drought. If it were over Lake Okeechobee we would be in a much better picture.”
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