Tide and Rain Should Make It Damp Day

For residents and merchants along Orange County’s low-lying coastal areas, the news of possible flooding as a result of today’s high tides and expected showers brought back memories.

“Yes, yes, we’ve heard about it,” said Amalia Edmon, who is employed at Newport Beach’s Schock Boats, which fronts on Newport Bay. During December’s unusually high tides, the boat shop was damaged when water came in over a seawall and through a crack in the building’s foundation.

As a precaution, employees on Tuesday lifted merchandise off the floor and onto shelves, Edmon said.

County officials said today’s high tide, which was expected to peak shortly before 8 a.m. at about seven feet, could cause minor flooding. Unusually high tides are also expected Thursday, peaking at about 8:30 a.m. at 7.1 feet, and Friday, peaking at about 9:15 a.m. at 6.9 feet.

Rain, which started to fall in parts of the county late Tuesday evening, was expected to continue today with decreasing cloudiness in the afternoon and fair skies in the evening, according to the National Weather Service.

December Tides

High tides along the Orange County coast exceeded the seven-foot level twice in December, but only minor damage was reported, according to county emergency officials.

And despite the moderate rainfall that was expected today, not enough wind or high surf were expected to cause any major flooding damage, said David King, county superintendent for public works operations.

Nonetheless, Sunset Beach residents were encouraged to sandbag doorways to prevent any water damage, King said.

In Newport Beach, shops that front on the bay also were sandbagging storefronts Tuesday, Edmon said.

“A couple of years ago at this time, we had water that came in so high that they found small fish left in a closet in the back of the shop,” Edmon said.

Lester Evans, Huntington Beach city engineer, said city crews were poised to close one lane of Pacific Coast Highway just north of Warner in Sunset Beach if any flooding develops.

But he added, “The tide shouldn’t be high enough to cause any problems at all.”