County’s Name Could Be Mud After Next Drenching : Weather: Storm expected today could dump half an inch of rain, making matters worse in slide areas. It may get even wetter Sunday.

Looming rainstorms, expected to hit the county late today and again Sunday night, prompted Orange County residents and officials to begin preparing Thursday for the possibility of more mudslides and flooding.

“All 220 of our staff are out repairing storm damages and getting ready for the next storm,” said Bill Reiter, county public works manager. “Any additional rain could result in rockslides and mudslides.”

A Pacific storm rapidly approaching the area will bring as much as half an inch of rain to Orange County and a heavier downpour in the Los Angeles area, according to WeatherData Inc., which provides weather information to The Times.

No rain is forecast for Saturday, said meteorologist Dean Jones. But a big storm front, anticipated late Sunday night or early Monday, is expected to dump even more rain on a county that has received 12 inches of rain from storms earlier this month.

Reiter said the county still is plagued by saturated soil. Canyons and burned hillsides in areas such as Laguna Beach are prone to mudslides, he said.

“It’s still real wet. We weren’t even able to get into some canyons until the last day and a half,” he added.

Officials bracing for the new onslaught announced the receipt of $4.1 million in disaster relief funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help speed repairs to public facilities damaged in the last round of storms.

Reiter said Thursday that he was delighted at the quick action by state and federal officials, who acted in response to an appeal from the bankrupt county last week for disaster assistance to cope with the storm damage.

Without an advance on expected federal disaster relief funding, Reiter had said, the county could not guarantee vendors and suppliers that it would be able to pay for the needed storm repairs.

In response, FEMA acted so quickly that the money received Thursday constitutes an initial payment, not an advance, Reiter said. Federal and state officials late last week accompanied Reiter on a whirlwind tour of the hard-hit areas and decided to issue funds almost immediately to cover the most pressing repairs, he said.

“We got the check about two hours ago, and we have already deposited it into the flood control fund,” Reiter said Thursday. He expressed gratitude both to FEMA and to the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, which acts as a conduit for disaster relief funding between the federal and local governments.

Reiter said the money will be used to purchase badly needed materials, including rock and asphalt, to fix several ruptured flood control channels, to pay vendors who have already extended the county credit for storm-related repairs and to pay for the rental of trucks and other heavy equipment needed in the repair work.

The decision by FEMA was the second bit of storm-related good news in less than a week for the troubled county, hit by the bankruptcy and the devastating storms within the last month.

On Friday, Reiter said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had decided to pay the $1.4-million tab for fixing a collapsed section of Beach Boulevard in Buena Park and the badly damaged Fullerton Creek flood control channel.

But another storm will slow the recovery and repairs, officials said.

Caltrans officials said rainfall will delay freeway landscaping projects and repairs on roads riddled with potholes. It could extend the closure of the collapsed section of Beach Boulevard, between Orangethorpe Avenue and 11th Street. The road is expected to be closed for at least another three weeks.

Most residents of Leisure World in Seal Beach, site of flooding Jan. 4 that forced 220 people from their houses, are back in their homes, officials said.

“All the homes have been cleaned, and plumbing and electricity are intact,” said Bill Narang, Leisure World’s administrator. “But we haven’t begun to restore the carpets or repair the walls. We’ve only just assessed the damages. This rain is certainly going to slow us down.”

Twenty tons of sandbags have been distributed to Leisure World residents most vulnerable to flooding. The American Red Cross is ready to open shelters anywhere in the county if flooding returns.

“The minute the first call comes through, we’ll be vigilant about opening up relief shelters,” said Judy Iannacone, Red Cross spokeswoman.

Volunteers with the Laguna Beach Fire Department have organized a sandbagging effort schedule for Saturday at Broadway and Forest Avenue.

Employees at Laguna Beach’s Starbucks Coffee shop, who waded through more than a foot of muddy water in their store two weeks ago, have stocked wooden planks, rolls of plastic and sandbags.

“We feel well-equipped,” employee Lee Brandt said. “But I think people should be fearful. You never know what a flood can do. It’s a scary thing.”

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