New video showed a "garden-variety South Florida summer rainstorm" flooding tents and drowning out Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) as he touted the "Alligator Alcatrez" detention facility he claimed was ready to house deportees, according to The Miami Herald.
Rain began shortly after President Donald Trump finished up his tour of the Everglades facility that the White House claimed needed little security due to pythons and alligators surrounding it, the report said.
"The water seeped into the site — the one that earlier in day the state’s top emergency chief had boasted was ready to withstand the winds of a 'high-end' Category 2 hurricane — and streamed all over electrical cables on the floor," wrote reporters Syra Ortiz Blanes, Ana Ceballos, and Alex Harris.
They quoted Kevin Guthrie, executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, as saying, “For those people that don’t think we’re taking that into consideration. This is Florida, by the way. We have a hurricane plan.”
But The Herald reported "that at one point the roof was shaking as the rain pounded down, drowning out Gov. Ron DeSantis’ voice as he spoke to reporters."
Spectrum News reporter Jason Delgado posted video of the flooding, and of DeSantis trying to talk over the cacophony.
"A good lil storm passed over us here at 'Alligator Alcatraz,’" Delgado posted. "Here's what it looks & sounds like inside one of these tents. The state says the sites here are rated to withstand a category two hurricane (~120mph winds)."
Liberal commentator Christopher Webb also posted video of the flooding, writing, "It’s costing taxpayers $450 million annually and Alligator Alcatraz concentration camp is already flooding. Imagine a hurricane. People are going to die. There’s always enough money to hurt folks, but when it comes to public transit, low-income housing, schools, or public healthcare, 'Sorry, we’re broke.'”
In a follow-up post, Delgado included a statement by the Florida Division of Emergency Management, saying "they’ve taken action to address the water leaks that happened Tuesday during a thunderstorm at ‘Alligator Alcatraz.’"
The statement read, “Overnight, the vendors went back and tightened any seams at the base of the structures that allowed water intrusion during the heavy storm, which was minimal.”
