Flooding has been a Miami constant from time immemorial

I very much appreciated the commentary submitted by Xavier Cortada in the March 2021 issue of Biscayne Times, “Miami’s Not a Place. It’s a Process. Driven by Water.” The potential impact of climate change on our city is a concern for all its residents. Having said that, as a Miami native now well into my seventh decade, I think it’s crucially important to keep things in perspective.

Flooding has been a constant in our area from time immemorial. Any longtime resident has stories about it. We don’t think of it as a “new” phenomenon – we know that it is something that can, and often does, happen to our streets following torrential rains. Rising seawater is not generally involved, except during hurricanes.

I’m sharing a couple of photos and clippings from Miami in the 1960s. Fifty years ago! Has the city since been submerged? Are neighborhoods on Biscayne Bay underwater? I live only a block from the bay and my house was built in the 1940s, so I don’t think so.

Which brings me back to my main point. We must all move with great care and great caution – and with a full understanding of what is being proposed – before we agree to any building of walls along the bay or anywhere else for that matter. The changes being proposed are huge in their impact. COVID-19 put a big dent in our ability to have public meetings, but thankfully, that threat is now receding. We must demand that our city and county officials provide the community with ample informational resources and public hearings before any decisions on such massive undertakings as the Army Corps of Engineers’ proposal can be approved.

Sincerely,

Deborah Stander

Miami