MIAMI BEACH: High-Rise Building Managers Turn Off Water And Power To Force Evacuations To Mainland

CBS News reports:

The mayor and emergency managers have spoken and the people of Miami Beach listened. Thousands packed what they needed and evacuated. Friday morning the normally busy South Beach was a virtual ghost town, the businesses and hotels along Ocean Drive shuttered or boarded up for the storm.

Mayor Philip Levine has urged everyone in the city to leave, fearing dangerous storm surge will inundate the barrier island. Levine said some of the hotels along the beach have been there since the 1920s and have been through a lot of storms. But this one may leave its mark.

Levine said if residents are planning to ride it out, they may want to rethink that idea. The mayor said people who live in high-rises hoping to stay are finding that won’t be the case. Building managers are turning off the water, air conditioning and power to encourage people to leave and seek shelter on the mainland.