Miami Hasn’t Seen a Hurricane in 11 Years, and That Big Beautiful Streak Will Continue
Hurricane Andrew, back in the day. See how perfectly formed it is?
My dad was just telling me the other day that Miami’s mini-mini Zika plague one the longer term might serve the same purpose as a good old hurricane, which our subtropical metropolis hasn’t seen in ages. Its been 11 years since Wilma hit us and we’ve been lucky since with placid skies, the occasional tropical shower, and a hardly Superstorm-calibre sideswipe by Sandy, but that’s about it. Meanwhile the people keep on coming, as tourists, new residents, and probably a lot of people trying to navigate the sketchy gray area in between. Hurricanes, dad pointed out, when they came would thin out the crowds for a while after, tempering Miami’s growth and opening the proverbial release valve a bit.
The still unnamed cluster of clowds that forecasters were considering might become something more serious over the weekend and my dad was keeping up hope as a potent crowd thinner never actually showed its very mildly threatening head. The most that happened were rainstorms keeping everything nicely waterlogged and Zika’s habitat perfectly wet. The clouds have thinned but thunderstorms are still predicted all week, and Zika’s habitation potentially a lot longer. Maiybe Zika will thin out the gridlock and traffic that Miami’s been incredibly affected by lately. Miami probably won’t be hosting any maternity fairs anytime soon.
New Zika Zone is Almost All of South Beach
Photo by Phillip Pessar.
Five new locally transmitted cases of Zika, two locals and three tourists, have appeared in South Beach within the box of 8th and 28th Streets, spanning the Atlantic Ocean to Biscayne Bay, reports the Miami Herald. This isn’t good. Governor Scott announced this as Miami’s second Zika Zone of active transmission. As the Herald says:
Aerial spraying cannot be conducted amid the high rises and ocean breezes of Miami Beach because the airplanes fly low, about 100 feet above the ground, Frieden said. But crowds of tourists on Miami Beach, and the abundance of people in bathing suits and exposed skin, means more people may be infected.
Although there is controversy over the spraying (as it kills mosquito predators too) this is not good. Check out the Herald’s map of the affected area here.
Wynwood is Beginning to Bounce Back from the Zika Apocalypse
Photo via Wynwood Yard.
When ZIka hit Wynwood, Miami’s reaction was immediate, and sweeping, and a little hysterical. The plague had struck Miami and it needed quarantined, and eradicated, or it would ravage South Florida. Wynwood became a ghost town that rained pesticide. Zika spread anyway, but was it too late for Wynwood? Would the people come back?
The monthly Wynwood Art Walk this Saturday “bustled with tourists and locals taking selfies, shopping, and browsing the galleries” reported the Miami Herald. The ‘Love for Locals’ campaign put on by local businesses hoping to bring people back to Wynwood was a hit, with many offering discounts and freebies. The Wynwood Yard, an outdoor park-like venue with food trucks and entertainment, reopened after having closed out of fear of anywhere outside or around foliage, where Zika-carrying mosquitos might be. According to the New Times, they’re taking more thought-out mosquito mitigation measures, including installing something called a MosquitoNix system, instead of just fleeing.
