Cities across Orange County are prepping for what experts are calling a Super El Niño season, with high tides and heavy rain expected in Southern California all the way through to March of next year.
As of Monday, rain is expected for the upcoming weekend — including on Halloween this Saturday.
In anticipation of the heavy surf and rain, officials in coastal cities are directing workers to armor their beaches by establishing berms, clearing drains while officials across OC have already declared states of emergency after a recent tropical storm and hurricane eroded the coast and damaged homes.
At their Oct. 20 meeting, San Clemente City Council members voted unanimously to continue their emergency declaration from the effects of Hurricane Marie in September, and declare an emergency following Tropical Storm Rachel earlier this month.
San Clemente Community Development Director Adam Atamian said the declarations will allow staff to keep working to clear debris, monitoring storms and tides, and working to place berms and sandbags in impacted areas.
“City departments and executive staff have been monitoring weather and tidal conditions, implementing protective measures, including sand berms and sandbagging, assessing infrastructure damage, coordinating with regional agencies, and documenting emergency response and recovery costs,” he said.
While San Clemente has already been battered by effects of tropical storms in the Pacific, the city also faced a large wildfire last week as dry plants and the Santa Ana winds spurred a 570 acre blaze.
In the time between the fire and storms hitting the city this week, crews ensured that drains were clear and placed sandbags around the burn scar area to prevent debris from entering the drainage systems and to prevent mudslides.
“Throughout all of these events, it has been demonstrated the importance of this coordinated emergency management across city departments, and the work being done now will help strengthen our preparedness for the upcoming El Niño season,” said Atamian at the Oct. 20 council meeting.
Dana Point officials also declared a state of emergency following Tropical Storm Rachel and continued their emergency after Hurricane Marie, however the declarations are not citywide – just along Beach Road in the Capo Bay district.
The emergency declaration allows the city to move forward with getting any resources without waiting for a competitive bidding process and would also allow the city to implement a curfew, if necessary, according to the staff report.
It comes after nearly two dozen homes in the city have been red and yellow tagged following the heavy rain. A red tag means that a property is not safe to enter and a yellow tag means that there is damage that is concerning.
City Clerk Shayna Sharke said the city has 10 red tags and 13 yellow tags, with two already demolished and one set to be as of Oct. 19.
Officials are advising residents to take down any umbrellas, secure their outdoor furniture and inspect their roofs as the weather system keeps rolling through.
Sharke said residents can collect 10 filled sandbags from the city to help protect their homes and that crews have been working to remove debris and maintain drains in preparation for any upcoming storms.
“The city is working hard to prepare for any potential emergencies that result from El Niño, as well as any other named coastal storms that come up,” said Sharke at Tuesday’s meeting.
Many of the beaches and coastal properties in Dana Point are owned by the county or state, like Doheny State Beach, so sand berms, as seen in other cities like Laguna Beach or Newport are not being built by the city of Dana Point.
It’s not just coastal cities.
At the Oct. 20 Yorba Linda City Council meeting, Principal Civil Engineer Regina Hu said the city has been assessing potential high risk locations, identifying flood prone areas, preparing emergency resources, and coordinating with the Orange County Fire Authority and Yorba Linda Water District.
Hu also said the city has also been implementing erosion control measures including recently staging over 20,000 sandbags along trails and slopes, clearing sites most susceptible to rain damage, and increasing removal, pruning and trimming of trees and shrubbery.
Hu also said residents need to be prepared.
“For residents, before the rain, we highly recommend staying informed through county and city alert notification systems, knowing your evacuation routes, planning ahead with supplies, cleaning out the drainage areas around your property, and having discussions with family members on how to stay safe,” Hu said.
She also said flyers are being sent out to the high volume of septic tank homeowners within the city to inform residents on preventative measures to protect their septic systems.
Residents can go to local fire stations 53, 10 and 32 to fill sandbags on a first come, first serve basis, according to the presentation.
Hu also cautioned residents to stay away from flooded road ways and be vigilant of debris, potential hillside areas and down power lines or utilities after the rain.
City Manager Peter Grant said the city’s public works crews maintain gutters and storm drains every rainy season.
Hu also said the city installed more drainage raisers and catch basins after the 2008 Freeway Complex Fire, which will reduce debris collection and ease cleanup efforts.
