A Flood of Questions, a Wave of Heroes : Many individuals excel, but the system fails Los Angeles

Forecasters say heavy rain from the current barrage of deadly storms may continue through the weekend, so many of us will be cleaning up mud and other debris at least that long. But when the crisis is past, we must start asking tough questions about what could have been done differently to avert the toll the February Floods of ’92 took on Southern California.

In Los Angeles, city officials have to get their act together before the next heavy rains cause the water level to rise suddenly in the Sepulveda Flood Control Basin, as it did Monday. Dozens of motorists on major streets that run through the basin were trapped there by a flash flood, and many had to be plucked from danger by helicopters.

There is plenty of blame to go around for that near-tragic situation. We have already noted that the National Weather Service should have had up-to-date Doppler radar, so that its forecasters could have gotten a clearer picture of just how intense Monday’s storm was and issued warnings earlier. The Army Corps of Engineers, which operates the Sepulveda dam, didn’t officially alert city officials to the flood danger until after corps officials saw dramatic helicopter rescues on television!

But even then corps officials had to call four different city agencies (Police, Transportation, Public Works and Recreation and Parks) to find someone who would take on the responsibility for closing the roadway gates that keep traffic out of the basin during a flood emergency. The police got the job done half an hour after being alerted. This bureaucratic Alphonse-and-Gaston routine is not funny.

A grimmer task faces Ventura County officials as they assess the awful damage done by a heavy downpour Wednesday morning. A young couple were suffocated in their sleep when a wall of mud crashed into the home in which they slept. Should that house have been built where it was? What could have been done to make the nearby hillside safe?

Another Ventura man, and possibly more victims, drowned when a flash flood inundated a mobile home park built adjacent to the Ventura River. Why was a developer allowed to build a trailer park there in the first place?

And what can officials who oversee the elaborate flood control systems in Los Angeles and Orange counties do to prevent tragedies like that which claimed the life of a Woodland Hills 15-year-old who was swept into the Los Angeles River channel and drowned? Adam Bischoff may indeed have been riding his bicycle too close to a creek that runs into the river, but is there anything more to be done to keep unwary people out of harm’s way?

To be sure, in the sobering aftermath of these storm tragedies there is more to be expressed than criticism. As we did after Monday’s rescues, we marvel at the skill and courage of those who came to the aid of Wednesday’s flood victims, both professional safety personnel and civilian bystanders. In a vain effort to save young Bischoff, to cite just one example, LAPD Officer Robert Laskowski allowed himself to be lowered toward raging river waters with only a garden hose tied around his waist. Such dedication gives us confidence that Southern Californians have what it takes to face future challenges posed by our sometimes capricious winters.