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Miami Beach Police detain a man as he plays loud music on a wireless speaker on Ocean Drive on March 17, 2021 AFP/CHANDAN KHANNA

Throngs of revellers flocking to Miami Beach in Florida for spring break have become so uncontrollable that authorities declared a state of emergency on Saturday (Mar 20) and imposed a curfew meant to quash the party.

The move marks the second year in a row that fun has been curtailed at the popular spring break destination – last March because the pandemic was just ramping up and this year due to unruly and destructive crowds.

Authorities announced on Saturday that visitors must be off the street and that restaurants would close their doors at 8pm in South Beach, the epicentre of the city's nightlife, following an increase of violence and vandalism over recent days.

"It kind of sucks," said John Perez, a student from Texas having beers with a group of friends on the sand, despite police efforts to prevent alcohol consumption on the beach.

In addition to the curfew, the three bridges that connect the Miami Beach island to mainland Miami will now be closed to traffic from 10pm to 6am.

Only residents, workers and hotel guests will have access."It's been so much fun out here, you know, like we got the warm weather, you got the beach," 22-year-old Perez said.

An aerial photo released by police on Saturday night showed the city's main strip, Ocean Drive, empty just two hours after the curfew went into effect.

Miami Beach is no stranger to uncontrollable spring break crowds, but this year, with about 13 per cent of US residents vaccinated, the atmosphere is particularly festive and the illusion that the pandemic is now under control is pervasive.

Acting City Manager Raul Aguila said the city's curfew moves were "all about the public safety".

He described huge crowds that had gathered on Ocean Drive as looking "like a rock concert. You couldn't see pavement and you couldn't see grass".

Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber said on Saturday while announcing the curfew that "the volume is clearly more than it's been in previous years".

"I think it is in part due to the fact that there are very few places open elsewhere in the country, or they're too cold – or they're not open and they're too cold," he said.

Over the last several days viral videos have emerged showing fights in restaurants that caused serious damage in addition to prompting diners to flee without paying expensive bills, according to local press reports.Miami Beach police chief Richard Clements said he is concerned the situation will become unmanageable.One of the city's most iconic venues, The Clevelander South Beach, announced on Friday that it was closing its restaurants and bars and would keep only the hotel running//CNA