Alex Harris
Lead climate reporter at the Miami Herald. Florida woman through and through
- Reposted by Alex HarrisOur latest in the Floods of Trouble series for the @miamiherald.com shows where reports of flooding or drainage issues have been reported since 2014 in Miami-Dade and Broward. ✍️: @harrisalexc.bsky.social and me www.miamiherald.com/news/local/e...
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- Reposted by Alex HarrisFrom a crewmember on yesterday's Teal 74 mission into now-Category 5 Hurricane #Melissa. As clear of an eye as you will see in the Atlantic basin.
- As the scientific tide starts to turn on coral restoration via regrowing fragments of fast-growing corals, a new idea is starting to gain traction -- crossbreeding corals with their stronger neighbors in the Caribbean. My latest on 'assisted gene flow' www.miamiherald.com/news/local/e...
- Fascinating story from @annamphillips.bsky.social about the clash between government buyouts vs small towns that can’t afford to let people go. Makes me wonder what that will look like in some rural, riverfront Florida communities. Or maybe even the Keys one day? t.co/yPnKGxgWue
- The reason South Florida is so vulnerable to sea level rise lies beneath our feet. When heavy rains fall or seas rise, groundwater levels do too. But most local, state and fed agencies in Florida don't account for this. It could mean we see more flooding, faster, than expected.
- Part 3 of my series exploring real estate and climate change in South Florida explores groundwater flooding! t.co/3JAbNTYCsQ
- Adding in the groundwater connection doesn't necessarily show flooding in new areas. @semerriam.bsky.social overlaid flood complaints in Fort Lauderdale with Broward's future scenarios mapping and found they match pretty well
- And Sohail Al Jamea made this lovely animation explaining the process we're talking about. Notice how the higher groundwater levels make it even easier for rainfall to cause flooding
- A Florida bill that slashes red tape for hurricane recovery efforts also has some provisions that local govs say will make it more difficult to rebuild stronger -- and higher -- after a hurricane. With @rballogg.bsky.social, who's been watching this already unfold in Manatee
- Cities and counties across the state say it will stop them from enacting much-needed fixes to problems they discovered after previous hurricanes. But the bill's sponsors say it's only meant to stop 'overregulation' and keep govs 'laser-focused' on recovery t.co/s6H8sTP6JS
- It could also raise flood insurance costs -- by about 5% -- for 44k Floridians in 12 different communities, including Hialeah, Hollywood and Orange County.
- At a presser this morning, NOAA and NWS officials got grilled on widespread understaffing at offices around the nation. Laura Grimm, acting head of @noaa.gov, swore the @nhc-atlantic.extwitter.link is "fully staffed" and "ready to go," but Herald reporting shows they're down at least one met.
- And Ken Graham, head of @nws.noaa.gov, swore the agency was prepared for the season. "We had some folks go, but we’re going to make sure we have everything on the front lines. Every warning is going to go out," he said.
- I guess we'll find out. We're days away from the start of hurricane season, and NOAA says it will likely be another active one. www.miamiherald.com/news/weather...
- Hurricane season is three weeks away (!) and Florida is missing meteorologists. What the current federal cuts (and prospective ones) could mean for storm forecasting: amp.miamiherald.com/news/weather...
- I get this question alll the time. If sea level rise is going to flood more Miami houses, why on earth is the market still so red hot? Let's get into it. [With @semerriam.bsky.social]
- Read the whole story, the second installment in a @miamiherald.com series on real estate and sea level rise, here: www.miamiherald.com/news/local/e...
- We had an analyst look at home sales in neighborhoods touched by intense flooding: the 90-day flood in the Keys, hurricanes in Miami or a 'rain bomb' in Fort Lauderdale. (Un)surprisingly, they went up after a flood event. Way up.
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View full threadThere's evidence that could be changing, both from new academic studies and some anecdotal evidence from spots whalloped by storms last year -- like the beautiful but floodprone neighborhood of Shore Acres in St. Petersburg. “Perhaps the tides are shifting," said one researcher
- Reposted by Alex HarrisFEMA data shows the agency has paid out $16.8 billion in damages since 2000 on more than 220,000 claims — some doled out repeatedly to the same problematic properties. The agency doesn’t share the addresses, even with buyers.
- Buying a home is already a tricky process, but in Florida, trying to find one that hasn't flooded and hopefully won't flood again is harder than it should be. And home buyers pay the price. www.miamiherald.com/news/local/e...
- In part one of my new series, @semerriam.bsky.social and I found a culture of secrecy for flood histories. It's a problem that is only expected to worsen as climate change makes flooding more common in the Sunshine State
- We heard from people who lost their homes in unexpected flooding, people whose realtors encouraged them to lie about flooding on their seller disclosure and people who were stuck in court for years trying to hold their sellers accountable.
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View full threadStay tuned for more parts of this series that explores how Florida real estate and sea level rise collide!
- South Florida is losing tens of millions of dollars for flood control projects aimed to stem not just future SLR flooding but current day flooding because Trump admin slashed funds www.miamiherald.com/news/local/e...
- Localizing a great scoop from @zteirstein.bsky.social + Jake Bittle last week grist.org/politics/fem...
- Eminent domain in Florida climate adaptation 👀👀 St. Augustine could be the first to try it, after the city approved a plan to potentially override resident pushback to build a protective seawall and halt flooding jaxtoday.org/2025/02/26/f...
- The government taking your property is.... not popular in Florida. Back in 2020, the Army Corps suggested mandatory buyouts of flooded homes in the Keys, but Monroe County fought it. Instead, the feds are doing voluntary home elevations (Original plan here) www.miamiherald.com/news/local/e...
- One of the toniest communities in Miami-Dade is raising roads to stay dry in the face of sea level rise. As we’ve learned from Miami Beach and the Keys, it’s super expensive! And some residents don’t love it www.miamiherald.com/news/local/c...
- This week, Key Biscayne got a new estimate — $56 million for road raising and drainage for just two miles of road. That’s pretty on par for what other communities are paying
- I’ve covered a lot of road raising meetings in the last few years. I’ve noticed it’s one of the few spaces where genuine questions about cost/efficacy are mixed with outright climate denial from residents
- People are always amazed when I tell them that despite some (substantial) culture war stuff on the topic, the DeSantis admin has spent $1.55 billion helping Florida cities adapt to what they explicitly admit is climate-related issues
- Everybody loves an Everglades restoration project -- until it's next door. A NIMBY-esque lawsuit from an unlikely source, a local Buddhist retreat in western Broward. www.miamiherald.com/news/local/e...
- Reposted by Alex Harris"Game changer" study shows that some of Miami's condos and hotels are sinking. “It’s probably a much larger problem than we know."
