((PKG)) FLORIDA FLOODING
((Banner: Citizen Scientists))
((Reporter/Camera: Steve Baragona))
((Adapted by: Philip Alexiou))
((Map: Miami, Florida))
((TIFFANY TROXLER, FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY))
What we’re trying to communicate is that sea level rise is not an issue that we need to deal with in the future. It’s something that we need to deal with right now, in terms of developing solutions to address sea level rise, and so with these events, these Citizen Science Flood Reporting events, we use the king tide as an opportunity to bring people out of their homes to observe the flooding, and also participate in solutions, which is in collecting information that will help us to better understand the impacts of sea level rise, locally.
((KIRAN BHAT, MIAMI AREA RESIDENT))
So long as we’re going to be here, it’s really important that we do our part making sure that the data gets collected, that the people who are working on this problem have a real reason to move forward, and if you have all the data, then you can really, sort of, make projections and figure out what’s going on. So, I want to do my part for the city, and Miami is a beautiful place. We don't want it to be impacted by sea level rise in the way that the projections are, sort of, putting out there. So, we want to do our part to mark sure that folks who are in the know and who were able to build a plan, have the data that they need.
((NATS))
Who's ready to take some samples? Yeah!
((MIAMI RESIDENT))
So I’m a consultant. I advise cities on sea level rise planning, and one of the things we talk a lot about is the importance of citizen science. So, this is my first opportunity to actually get my hands dirty and do it myself.
((NATS))
Put the filter on the syringe.
((TIFFANY TROXLER, FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY))
It is a manpower thing, because you simply can't cover the number of sites that we're working on today with the research infrastructure that we have at our disposal. But I want to say that it's just as important to engage people in this way so that we can communicate the issues of sea level rise.
((NATS))
((ROSANNA OVIEDO, FIU STUDENT))
I've probably seen it, of course, but I haven't paid attention because I didn't know what it was, and what was it about. The sea comes, and you get flooding in the middle of the street. So yeah, now we know.
((TIFFANY TROXLER, FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY))
I think, even for myself, I don't think I really appreciated how urgent the issue of sea level rise was, until I saw the water coming out of the drain, and it just doesn't stop, it just continues. It continues to come out, and the area that’s being inundated by flood becomes larger and larger. And until you see that really, you know, dynamic aspect of the flooding, I think it’s difficult to really understand what’s going on around us.
