Miami Beach Mayor Authorizes Emergency Generators

MIAMI BEACH, FL — As the cleanup continues from Tuesday's flooding in Miami Beach, Mayor Philip Levine said that he was ordering an emergency purchase of backup generators for the Sunset Harbour neighborhood under emergency procurement procedures. He said that the purchasing process had already been underway but was bogged down in "bureaucratic paralysis," which he said negatively affected the city's response to the unusually heavy rains this week. The area recently underwent a series of improvements to guard against rising sea levels and has hosted visiting dignitaries such as New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio,

"To put it simply, we cannot wait any longer," Levine declared on Wednesday. "Our residents, rightfully so, are demanding action and I agree. Therefore, I have directed city staff to immediately pursue emergency procurement procedures to secure the generators to prevent future flooding as seen yesterday." The backup generators will be attached to pump stations two and three in the Sunset Harbour area (see image below). (Sign up for our free Daily Newsletters and Breaking News Alerts for the Miami Beach Patch.)

See also: Heavy Flooding Overwhelms Miami Beach, Parts of Miami

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Levine added that the pumps drained flooded streets quickly when they had power. "The work we've done to mitigate flooding in 15-percent of the city is working and this morning we saw how the pumps drained the flooded streets quickly," he said. "However, I appreciate that more needs to be done to fully address this issue. This is why I am committed to ensuring we do all we can in my remaining months as mayor to deliver on my commitment to you to address the threats of sea level rise and climate change."

Levine said earlier that Miami Beach experienced "record rainfall" that caused flooding on many streets. "This was further exacerbated by power outages citywide, that caused drainage infrastructure to be temporarily offline," he said, noting that the city had installed new stormwater systems in about 15 percent of the city, including the Sunset Harbour neighborhood.

"The new system is designed to handle 7.5 inches of rainfall with a peak intensity of just under 3 inches per hour," he said on Tuesday night. "Today, our city saw peak rainfall intensities of greater than 7 inches per hour. This is more than double the new design capacity."

Miami Beach's Director of Public Works Eric Carpenter said that the Sunset Harbour neighborhood lost power for 45 minutes during the storm, which left it vulnerable to flooding.

"The pumps were struggling to keep up with the rainfall already and when the power went out the impacts increased quickly," he said. "Once the power returned and the rain slowed to within the design parameters the pumps caught up."

He said that most businesses in the area were back up and running within an hour while they might have been closed for days in the past. As more neighborhoods receive upgraded stormwater systems, the effects of neighborhood spillover will also be reduced going forward.

Carpenter acknowledged in an interview with Local 10 news that the city could have used temporary generators had they known the storm was going to be so intense.

"We didn’t think that we needed the temporary generators out there," he explained. "Obviously, hindsight is 20/20."

During his June visit to the Sunset Harbour neighborhood, de Blasio applauded the city's efforts to raise the streets. "That’s something we’re starting to do in New York City but it’s very impressive what’s happening here in Miami Beach,” he said at the time. “It shows us it can be done right in the middle of a heavily populated area and it can work.”

Levine acknowledged that much work still remains.

"We cannot stop now because the consequences of inaction are too great and the progress we made thus far requires us to stay focused on achieving results for our residents," he explained.

Miami Beach Mayor Phil Levine (left) leads NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio on a walking tour of the Sunset Harbour neighborhood. Photo by Paul Scicchitano.