HOLLYWOOD — Yes, homes flooded and businesses closed, but South Florida’s latest epic storm washout may not have caused enough damage to merit a federal emergency declaration, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Friday.
Speaking at a Hollywood firehouse while rounding out a tour of flood damage in the city with two top state officials, the governor applauded a confluence of storm response efforts by state and local officials after Broward and Miami-Dade counties in particular were clobbered with waves of heavy rain and “life-threatening” floodwaters that started Wednesday.
“We had a very long dry spell; the Everglades was really parched,” DeSantis told reporters while standing in front of a high-suspension military surplus vehicle used by the fire department for rescue purposes. “The area held a lot of [the water] but there was so much inundation in such a short period time.”
He said 12 million gallons of water have been pumped out of the area.
Kevin Guthrie, executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, and Jared Perdue, state secretary of transportation, said their agencies performed markedly better than the monsoon-like rains that swamped South Florida on April 12, 2023.
“What a night and day difference between the response 15 months ago, and what we have now,” Guthrie said.
The executives described how the state quickly elevated its response program on Wednesday to a “Level 1” status. Among other things, they delivered 90 pumps, 10 pallets of food and 14 pallets of water to the area. The Florida Department of Transportation, meanwhile, closely monitored the roadways and its workers were able to attack the formation of a huge pond that formed at the interchange of Interstates 595 and 95 northwest of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. The waters forced the closure of I-95 for between five and six hours.
“We immediately deployed resources as the rain event started,” Perdue said.
The agency dispatched crews armed with eight pumps, which, operating simultaneously, removed the water to allow the section of the interstate to reopen.
Separately on Friday, Lt. Indiana Miranda of the Florida Highway Patrol Office of Public Affairs told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that “we had multiple cars stopping/drowning due to the high levels of flooding. Therefore, the decisions were made to close parts of the interstate that needed to be drained/vacuumed for the safety of the motoring public.”
Recovery money
Guthrie estimated the number of homes damaged in Hollywood exceeded 100 dwellings, but that figure could rise after assessments are completed.
While the damage to homes and businesses anecdotally appears to be extensive, the governor and Guthrie indicated that the full extent of federal resources triggered by an emergency declaration might not be available because the losses may not have been enough to trigger the aid.
‘We don’t think there is going to be enough damage to necessarily qualify for a federal disaster declaration,” DeSantis said. “But there may be enough damage with small businesses because the threshold is different. We can unlock some assistance for small business, and I think we are going to work on getting a decision on that.”
Guthrie said his department would be working with the state’s FloridaCommerce agency, which is responsible for helping storm damage victims regain their financial footing. In the meantime, he said he would be contacting a regional representative of the Small Business Administration to discuss aid options for locally damaged businesses.
Later in the day, FloridaCommerce announced DeSantis had activated the Florida Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan Program, making $3 million available for businesses impacted by the storms. Small business owners needing assistance are invited to visit FloridaJobs.org/EBL to apply for zero-interest loans of up to $50,000. Businesses must be located in Broward, Miami-Dade, Collier, Lee or Sarasota counties.
Owners can apply now through Aug. 12, or until all available funds are exhausted, the agency said in its statement.
Guthrie, meanwhile, had this advice for homeowners and other residents and visitors in areas still affected by the floodwaters:
- Do not enter the building to rummage around for belongings.
- Take pictures of the building before cleanup to document damage for insurance purposes.
- Avoid areas subject to flooding.
- Don’t handle live wires. Avoid them.
- Never walk through standing water. Much of it is likely to be contaminated.