South Florida braces for king tide flooding as heavy rain, onshore winds threaten the coast

As king tides peak along the South Florida coast, municipal officials and local residents are preparing for potentially widespread flooding as heavy rain and strong onshore winds threaten the region over the coming days.

Outside the Ocean Blu store on the Hollywood Broadwalk, sandbags are already lined up to prevent damage. The store was inundated with a foot of water during a smaller king tide event last month. Since then, the city has installed additional Tiger Dam barriers along the beach to hold back rising waters.

"If it's a heavy rain, the same time as high tides, yes, I anticipate that we'll have flooding throughout Hollywood," said Shawn Fanshier, who observed the tides peaking Thursday morning.

Officials warn that water levels could reach historic highs early next week.

"Over the course of the weekend and into next week, especially through Tuesday and Wednesday, we're expecting tides higher than we've ever seen," said Dr. Nancy Gassman, chief resiliency officer for Fort Lauderdale.

Gassman emphasized that the severity of coastal flooding will depend largely on weather conditions.

"The key will be the timing of the rainfall," Gassman said. "If the rainfall is at the same time as the high tide, we'll expect much wider spread flooding throughout the roadways."

Gassman advised residents in vulnerable areas to make preparations immediately. In Hollywood, city officials may open beach parking garages so residents can relocate their vehicles away from damaging saltwater flooding.

Meanwhile, public works crews in Hollywood are actively preparing drainage infrastructure.

"We're monitoring the pumps. We're making sure that they're operational. They're all operational right now," said Joann Hussey, spokeswoman for the City of Hollywood. "We have auxiliary pumps that have also been deployed, and those will be operational too."