Building evacuated, roads closed after burst pipe floods Miami Beach neighborhood
A water main break in the North Beach neighborhood of Miami Beach on Monday caused severe flooding and led to the evacuation of an apartment building.
Footage of the flooding shared with the Miami Herald showed a firefighter shoveling mud and debris next to a large, sloshing abscess in the road where highly pressurized water spewed from underground at the corner of 74th Street and Carlyle Avenue.
The cause of the burst was old age, the city said Tuesday.
“We believe that the 60+ year old pipe failed because it has reached the end of its functional life,” a city spokeswoman wrote in an email.
Miami Beach Commissioner Ricky Arriola said in a statement that the city should “invest in our infrastructure” to avoid similar incidents.
“What we saw here is aging infrastructure,” he said.
Crews with the city of Miami Beach Public Works Department worked Monday night to repair the burst pipe, which was first reported to the city at 5:30 p.m., said Roy Coley, director of public works.
Work continued into the afternoon on Tuesday. Crews replaced 14 feet of the busted six-inch pipe and then worked to control a nearby leak.
The city shut off water to the area Monday, but crews restored water to all customers by Tuesday afternoon.
Police evacuated an apartment building at 540 74th St., located within feet of the water main break, out of fear that water would flood the property. The broken pipe delivers water to the apartments. The building’s water was turned back on Tuesday. It was under a boil-water notice until about noon.
Miami Beach Police advised residents Tuesday morning to avoid the area of 74th Street and Carlyle Avenue due to ongoing repairs.
This story was originally published December 16, 2019 at 5:58 PM.
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