Zoo Miami has been closed since Saturday over concerns about animal safety after torrential rains have flooded the southern-most section of Miami-Dade County.
According to the AP, nearby Miami Executive Airport had already tabulated more than 13 inches of rain in December by Tuesday morning.
The incredible deluge has made much of the park unusable and unsafe for human visitors.
According to the AP, fish from a nearby lake were spotted swimming under benches meant for human visitors and many walkways are underwater.
The more concerning issue for zoo officials is the threat to animal life that sustained flooding can have.
According to the Miami Herald, some animals, including the lions are usually kept from the public by a moat system. With the water at such a high level, the lions could easily swim across the moat and enter the public area.
“With a high water level, there is no longer a barrier,” Zoo Miami Communications Director Ron Magill told the Miami Herald. “In reality, most animals can swim.”
According to WPLG TV, the animals are being kept in their “night houses” so they remain safe.
WATCH: WPLG (Local 10 Miami) Report On Zoo Miami Flooding
The zoo could open again Wednesday morning as the region begins to dry out from the unseasonably large amount of rain.
Cover Photo Credit: Peter Harrison/ Flickr (CC By 2.0)
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FIU Students Organize Second Miami Maglev Forum In Hopes Of Sparking Transportation Revolution
South Florida is known for many things. Beautiful weather, multiculturalism, hot nightlife and soul crushing public transportation that literally makes you want to die. (You don’t see that last part in the Chamber of Commerce brochures.)
One group of high achieving young people are trying to revolutionize the way South Florida gets around by bringing a radical form of public transportation here.
Two brothers—Darius and Demetrius Villa—and their friend, Aleksandr Khalfin, founded the High Speed Rail America Club (HSRAC) at Florida International University last year and they have found some success in spreading their message.
The club researches and promotes high-speed rail trains, also known as bullet trains, in America. Bullet trains, which average more than 150 mph, don’t exist in our country, and it’s a fuel-efficient and quicker way to travel, Demetrius told RISE NEWS in an interview last year.
They say that they are the leading high-speed advocacy group for millennials.
The group believes that Miami should build up an ambitious system of Maglev transportation that would eventually connect the Magic City to Miami Beach and FIU.
With a healthy amount of grassroots support now at their back, the HSRAC wants to get some political muscle on their side.
They plan to do this by presenting a Miami Maglev Forum on April 7th from 10 AM-12 PM on the FIU campus. And they hope that local political leaders will show up to learn about the proposed idea and to interact with young transportation activists.
They tried and failed at this once before.
“Last September, the group partnered with American Maglev Technology, the FIU Honors College, and All Aboard Florida to host the first Miami Maglev forum,” a press release from the HSRAC read. “While the forum itself had students and FIU community leaders in attendance, a grand total of zero representatives came from the leadership of Miami, Miami-Dade, and Miami Beach. Students were highly upset of the lack of leadership from their elected officials, and grew further disenchanted with the infrastructural direction of the community.”
The release goes on to say that transportation directors, commissioners, and mayors of all three municipalities (Miami-Dade County, City of Miami, Miami Beach) were emailed, and no responses were received from them.
“To make amends to both the citizens and their elected officials, we are hosting a 2nd Maglev Forum to be able to discuss ideas, the direction of the community, and towards finding a solution that the populace agrees with,” the release reads.
If you want to learn more about the group or the event, you can follow them on Facebook.
RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in public affairs. Anyone can write for us as long as you are fiercely interested in making the world a better place.
Cover Photo Credit: Thomas Lok/ Flickr (CC By 2.0)
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Zoo Miami’s Ron Magill Doesn’t Think The Increase In South Florida Crocs Is A Big Deal
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Algae Blooms Are Making People Sick In Parts Of Florida
Algae blooms that have been making people sick have spread to Martin and St. Lucie Counties in Florida, according to WPTV.
TCPalm reports that officials in both Martin and St. Lucie County have appealed to Florida Department of Environmental Regulation to test the water, determine what type of algae is in it, and see if it’s related to blue green algae linked to Lake Okeechobee’s freshwater discharges.
Tourism could be affected by the algae blooms.
Nerissa Okiye, who is the Marketing and Tourism Director for Martin County, told WPTV that she has been fielding questions from people who had placed trips to Martin County before the algae blooms began.
She told WPTV that “When they’re seeing this, it puts a hesitancy. Do I want to go there?”
The algae has been known to cause rashes and hay fever like symptoms in people that it has come in contact with, and nausea and vomiting in people who ingest it.
In the meantime, signs have been put up advising people not to approach the algae, and affected beaches have put up red flags as to advise swimmers.
Martin County Health Department spokesperson Renay Rouse told WPTV that “It is unusual…As a precaution we wanted to get the signage out there. The big message is if you see algae avoid contact with it.”
RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in public affairs. You can write for us.
Cover Photo Credit: Brian Goodwin/ Flickr (CC By 2.0)
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