Fort Lauderdale Beach High Tide Creates Floods: Havoc For Businesses

The beach got wiped out behind the Pelican Grand.

Though Hurricane Sandy left south Florida relatively untouched, her legacy lives on. The storm, coupled with a full moon, caused the ocean tides to swell and come over the Fort Lauderdale beach wall, flooding A1A and causing water damage to some local restaurants.



Now, weeks later, the ocean continues to rise and encroach on city streets and businesses. The Miami Herald reported that over the weekend, the stretch of A1A from Sunrise Boulevard to Northeast 20th Street was closed due to heavy flooding and a breach in the beach barrier wall.

Though that part of A1A consists of mostly residential homes across the highway, several area establishments either experienced flooding or were hit by a loss of revenue due to the fact that access was blocked by the rising waters.

McSorley's co-owner Donal Kearney said that five foot waves hit the front of the popular Irish pub. "Thank God for sandbags," he told Clean Plate Charlie. Though business was affected by the flooding, Kearney said, "that's the cost of doing business on the beach."

The Pelican Grand Beach Resort suffered some beach erosion and minor damage from the rise of the tides. Its staircase to the beach got broken up by waves.

Fort Lauderdale beach may be in for some more flooding. 2012 tide tables show high tides for the rest of the week, with levels peaking on Wednesday and Thursday.

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