On October 14-16, 1999, Hurricane Irene visited South Florida as a minimal hurricane. It was not the strong winds that did the damage in Irene's path, but rather the torrential downpours. Most areas of South Florida received 8 to 18 inches of rainfall. These heavy rains took their toll on the local communities, flooding roads, cars, houses, and entire communities. While it was tough in the cities, the South Florida Water Management District did their best to open gates and lower canal levels so that the cities could begin to dry out. It is a process that did take a number of days for many city areas to see the waters receed. In the Everglades however, water levels are actually going up in some places. Areas familiar to visitors of Everglades National Park are completely flooded. The Shark Valley area that I work in has a raised 15 mile roadway that still resembles a canal in many places. These high water levels have not only closed sections of the glades, but will also take it's toll on the wildlife of the glades as animals have more difficult times searching for dry ground. To give everyone a general idea, check out the photos on this page. It may take a little time for all the pictures to load, so please be patient.
It looks ominous from the very beginning.
This is one of the shallower sections, right at the front gate.
As you can see, water levels just to get past the
entrance station are fairly impressive. And this was the week
after the storm.
As a matter of fact, the entire entrance road is
an adventure in watersports.
The front office and law enforcement housing area
is flooded by about 20 inches of water in the center
of the parking area.
This is one of the employees attempting to start out on the
road for a quick look on a bike. There is no dry ride for him.
Even several miles to the south the raised road is a sheet flow of water.
Even as you get the first glimpse of the observation tower,
the road to the south has been a solid flow of water since
starting at the front parking lot 6 miles earlier.
As we approach the airboat landing used by researchers, it is obvious to us
that we do not need a landing, we would be able to launch a boat from anywhere!
You can see that it looks as though they parked their vehicles and empty
boat trailers in a lake rather than in the middle of a parking lot.
Looks like a great location for a picnic?!!?
With the way the plants are growing at the edge of the road,
it really gives the impression that you are travelling down a canal.
If you weren't convinced before, the gator swimming across should do it.
Even out of the worst, you may always find a reason for optimism.
The waters continued to rise at Shark Valley, until they hit their crest on November 11. Since that time, water levels have been dropping at a fairly steady pace. At the current rate, Shark Valley will probably reopen to the public some time around Christmas. While services may still be limited, this is great news to the folks of the Valley. Maybe we'll see you there (I'm the ugly one!)
