Coastline May Bear Brunt of Storms : Weather: Flooding and mudslides are forecast for Malibu. Two to four inches of rain is expected in Los Angeles, twice as much in the foothills and more in the mountains.

Residents in coastal, canyon and low-lying areas of Southern California braced on Tuesday for a two-storm assault that is expected to generate widespread flooding and high waves that could damage beachfront structures in the Malibu area.

At county Fire Station 70, about two miles east of the celebrity-studded Malibu Colony, canyon residents intent on building flood barriers queued up throughout the day Tuesday, filling bags with sand from the two truckloads hauled in earlier in the day.

“They must have taken at least 2,000 bags out this morning, and they’re doing the same thing at the other stations in the Santa Monica Mountains,” said Fire Capt. Wayne Miller, the station commander.

“People are coming in here with trucks, cars, everything,” Miller said. “One car went out of here so loaded down that the suspension was dragging on the ground.”

Rain began falling along the coast Tuesday night as the first storm, arriving 24 hours later than originally forecast, finally moved inland after a long journey from the tropical central Pacific.

The second storm, heading south from the Gulf of Alaska, was expected to begin merging with the first early this morning. Rick Dittmann, a meteorologist with WeatherData Inc., said the results “should be quite impressive. . . .”

“Just because it held off for a few hours doesn’t mean that it won’t bring an awful lot of rain,” he said. “There should be two to four inches of rain in Los Angeles, four to eight in the foothills and six to 10 in the mountains before it starts tapering off on Thursday.”

The National Weather Service warned of problems “that may range from typical urban flooding of freeways, streets, low-lying areas, small streams and creeks to the more dangerous flash-flooding associated with very heavy rain falling in a short period of time.”

In addition, forecasters said storm-driven, 10-foot waves, cresting atop unusual 6 1/2-foot tides, are expected to peak about 8 a.m. today, posing a major threat to expensive waterfront homes in Malibu. The tides have been boosted to above-normal levels by the positions of the sun and moon.

With word that a third storm may bring additional rain over the weekend, the Weather Service repeated its urging that residents monitor radio and television broadcasts for emergency advisories.

Malibu is expected to be one of the areas hardest hit today and Thursday, with flooding and mudslides expected in the canyons, along with the possible wave damage.

Sandbagging was the major chore Tuesday, but Miller said it was equally important to make sure sure that drains are unplugged and drainage channels are clear.

“Some people are actually digging trenches across their lawns that will help carry the water away,” he said. “Gravity works a lot better than sandbags. You’ll never be able to dam up the water, so you’ve got to divert it.”

Jack Tuefel, who lives at the mouth of Las Flores Canyon, the site of earlier flooding, spent the day videotaping his possessions, so he will have a record of them if they are swept away by floodwaters.

Last February, a powerful storm destroyed an apartment building above his home. A month ago, heavy rains flooded his guest house with six to eight inches of water.

During the week that followed the December storm, Tuefel brought in a crew to fill thousands of sandbags, erecting a wall around the entire property.

“We feel real confident this time,” he said. “We can take a pretty big storm. But if it’s extraordinary, we’re outta here.”

Along the beach at Malibu, there was little that residents could do but sit, wait and hope for the best.

Kathleen Garfield, who lost part of her deck to the waves in 1986, said that for oceanfront residents, “sandbags are meaningless.”

She said the storm seven years ago “washed away easily a dozen feet of sand. It scoured the beach bare.”

Heavy equipment and camp crews will be standing by in Malibu at dawn today, Miller said. Strike teams of fire engines and firefighters are to be brought in to augment the normal staffing.

“We’re totally geared up for a big storm,” Miller said.

In Orange County, the 120 members of Orange County Search and Rescue were placed on alert Tuesday afternoon. The specially trained team stood ready with four-wheel-drive vehicles, a generator trailer for lighting, a rescue truck and a response trailer with enough boots, traffic-direction equipment and other supplies for 40 rescue members. The team is poised to man barricades, direct traffic and treat injuries, said Joyce Glen, a spokeswoman for the team.

About 50 Orange County Jail inmates, plus regular county crews, will be available to lay sandbags, officials said. Don Nichols, chief hydrologist with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works’ water-conservation system, said the department’s network of flood-control dams is in good shape to handle runoff.

The water behind the dams is now at minimum levels, just enough to keep debris from fouling outlet valves, Nichols said.

“We are prepared,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of capacity there. . . . We’re right where we’re supposed to be.”

Nichols said that if the storms bring less rain than expected, the runoff will be released from the dams into subterranean spreading basins downstream, where it can be stored until needed later.

“If there’s a lot of rain, we can go to a flood-protection mode,” he said, “opening the valves to the extent that the downstream systems (riverbeds, washes and flood-control channels) can carry the water away.”

Donna Guyovich, a Public Works spokeswoman, said the department’s operations center will be activated by this morning, with a special emergency staff on hand to keep the central office up to date on the developing situation.

“Everything’s ready for battle,” she said.