Alex Harris
@harrisalexc.bsky.social
Lead climate reporter at the Miami Herald. Florida woman through and through
Our 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...
‘Street is lake, urgent!’ Herald mapping reveals flooding blind spots
As climate changes soaks South Florida, flood complaints are piling up.
miamiherald.com
From 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...
Corals keep cooking in climate-heated seas. These crossbreeds may keep hope alive
‘We’re scattering the seeds. We have to wait for the oaks to grow up.’
miamiherald.com
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
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2025/06/12/vermont-floods-barre-rebuilding/
t.co
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.
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
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.
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...
With hurricane season ahead, Trump cuts leave Florida weather offices understaffed
Florida NWS offices appear to be down at least 16 staffers ahead of hurricane season.
amp.miamiherald.com
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]
FEMA 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...
How secret flood histories cost Florida home buyers and mask state’s risk
“We’re trying to avoid someone getting left holding the bag on a property that floods.”
miamiherald.com
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...
Millions in South Florida flood-control projects on hold after Trump FEMA cuts
On the chopping block: projects in Miami, Key West and Broward.
miamiherald.com
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...
St. Augustine moves to reduce Lake Maria Sanchez flooding | Jacksonville Today
A plan adopted this week will allow the city to build a seawall to limit flooding from the lake.
jaxtoday.org
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...
As sea-rise floods increase, Key Biscayne to raise roads. Big price tag ruffles residents
Without fixes, some roads could be underwater every day by 2070.
miamiherald.com
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
Jason Garcia@jasongarcia.bsky.social · 2y agoNew: Ron DeSantis admits climate change is a problem for Florida. jasongarcia.substack.com/p/florida-is...
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...
Buddhist center sues over Everglades project, arguing work would disrupt tranquility
The group says the construction noise would infringe on their religious freedom.
miamiherald.com
"Game changer" study shows that some of Miami's condos and hotels are sinking. “It’s probably a much larger problem than we know."
Dozens of luxury condos, hotels in Miami sinking at ‘unexpected’ rates, new study reveals
First-ever observation of continuous subsidence shows as much as 70 percent of high-rises affected in some areas of Miami
miamiherald.com
Miami is struggling to maintain its tree canopy. Homeowners & developers are chopping them down nearly as fast as the city can replace them. A proposed rule change could make that even easier. www.miamiherald.com/news/local/e...
Miami already short on shade trees. Plan would make it easier to remove them, activists say
‘We have [an ordinance] that’s ineffective at improving our urban tree canopy, and there’s little to suggest this would improve it, and much to suggest that it worsens it.’
miamiherald.com
Razing and elevating homes after a storm is a pain — it’s expensive and slow for distraught residents. But it keeps us safe from future storms. Skipping it isn’t optional, as Fort Myers Beach learned www.miamiherald.com/news/weather...
miamiherald.com
