Cutler Bay pumps working overtime, flood-damage inspections offered
CUTLER BAY – The Town of Cutler Bay plans to remove several water pumps by Friday after using them around the clock for days to dry out portions of the Saga Bay community that were under several feet of water.
A spokeswoman for the National Weather Service told CBS4's Peter D'Oench that as of early Thursday afternoon, Cutler Bay had received nearly 19 inches of rain. And the stormy weather continues to take its toll. Miami-Dade Police responded to a potentially hazardous situation on Old Cutler Road at S.W. 216th St. Thursday afternoon where a tree that may have been struck by lightning was knocked down and covered Old Cutler Road. Traffic was being rerouted.
Homeowner Daniel Rivera, who lives next to Saga Bay Lake, shared new cell phone video with CBS4 that shows the massive flooding after the lake overflowed its banks on Saturday and Monday.
"It was kind of crazy when I opened my door and saw all of this," said Rivera. "I was stranded for a day and a half. And I couldn't drive my cars so I took UBER or got help from friends. I was not scared but this was surprising. This was unusual because it rained steadily for at least 3 days."
Palmetto Bay Mayor Tim Meerbott told D'Oench that the town was using $11 million in federal funds for as many as eight storm water improvement projects that would probably take about 2 years to finish.
In the meantime, he says that homeowners can receive free flood inspections next week starting on Monday if they contact Elena Garcia in the Community Development Department at (786) 573-5538 or email here at EGarcia@cutlerbay-FL.Gov.
Meerbott said, "We need to get a better idea of what type of damage was incurred so we can collect all the data. We know where the low lying areas are but unless we speak with the people and they tell us this is where they were hit we are not going to know. We have had 20 people reach out to us on social media and they have said they have intrusion and want inspections. They will take place next week starting on Monday. It is a great time to do this because we have had unprecedented rain. It's a 100-year event. The houses are ok but we need to find out what additional steps we can take so we can make things better in the future."
Additional pumps had been placed throughout the town to move water out of the community.
As of Thursday, at least 6 pumps were deployed to pump tens of thousands of gallons of water out of the community each hour.
The largest pumps were placed next to Saga Lake, which overflowed twice, inundating the surrounding community with several feet of water in some areas.
Two of the most powerful pumps being used to lower the lake's water levels have each been pumping out roughly 6,000 gallons of water per minute. A third pump at the lake can move about 2,000 gallons a minute.
"I could hear the pumps going every night for the past couple of days," said Jonathan Salgado, who lives next to Saga Bay Lake.
Luckily for Salgado, his home was not impacted by the flood waters.
Officials with the Town of Cutler Bay are providing free inspections for residents who experienced flood damage.
The inspections will take place next week, starting Monday and will run through Friday.
Residents interested in scheduling an inspection should contact Cutler Bay's Code Enforcement Office.
