El Niño means serious storm preparation for Laguna Beach

If there was one piece of advice Laguna Beach fire and marine safety officials stressed during a storm preparation workshop Nov. 5, it was this: Respect the water.

The likelihood of water, in the form of rain — lots of it — is high this winter, National Weather Service meteorologist Alex Tardy told a group of residents gathered in the Laguna Beach Community & Susi Q Center.

The city organized the educational workshop to help the public brace for the possibility of an El Niño-fueled rainy season, which Tardy said has the potential to rival, if not inflict greater rainfall, than previously brought on by the ocean phenomenon.

“El Niño is here and this could be the strongest one on the books,” said Tardy, who works from the service’s Rancho Bernardo office in San Diego County. “It’s important to take it serious. If you live in a flood plain, check with your insurance company to see if they offer flood insurance.”

El Niño is not technically a storm, but a condition when warmer ocean temperatures trigger a change in weather patterns. Tardy said 20 or more storms could hit Laguna from now through March due to a sagging jet stream that is expected to station over Southern California.

Flooding is all too familiar in Laguna. A weeklong period of rain in December 2010 gouged as much as 15 feet of sand from city beaches and created a mess on Main Beach. Mud covered streets and sidewalks, including the intersection of Ocean Avenue and Coast Highway.

El Niño-related storms hit Laguna in the winters of 1997-98 and 1982-83, dropping 35 and 25 inches of rain, respectively, according to county totals. Laguna’s average yearly rainfall is between 10 and 15 inches.

Rainfall in 1997 caused more than 300 landslides throughout the city because vegetation hadn’t fully regrown on hillsides charred four years earlier in a fire that destroyed more than 400 houses, Laguna Fire Chief Jeff LaTendresse said.

“Geologists tell us it takes five years for hillsides to stabilize with vegetation,” he said.

LaTendresse urged residents to know how water flows around their houses to protect themselves and their property, and have an evacuation route in case they need to move to higher ground. He emphasized that moving water can be deceiving.

“Most cars can be swept away in less than 2 feet [deep] of moving water,” city Emergency Operations Coordinator Jordan Villwock said. Floodwaters emptied dumpsters onto Main Beach during the 2010 storms, and, as seen in a video, created a river atop Laguna Canyon Road.

Fire officials urged residents to not park cars near storm drains or manhole covers, and clear debris such as leaves from rain gutters. Residents can register landlines, cellphone numbers, and email addresses with AlertOC to receive messages during emergencies.

This year the American Red Cross added the Susi Q to the city’s list of designated emergency shelters.

Villwock said residents don’t have to wait for an evacuation order to get out of harm’s way. He suggested residents have an out-of-town relative or friend to relay messages to during an emergency. Text messages would work best, Villwock said, as landlines could be downed.

City staff sent a disaster preparedness letter to every residence and business this week and LaTendresse said Laguna will ramp up staffing levels before forecasted rain.

Free filled sandbags will be available at two locations in the days leading up to an expected storm.

Sandbags will be available at the ACT V parking lot at 1900 Laguna Canyon Road, and the Aliso Beach Park parking lot’s rear area on the inland side of South Coast Highway. There is no limit on the number of sandbags a person may take, but LaTendresse said they are intended for residents, not contractors.

While many are hoping for a silver lining, even if El Niño hits hard, state officials may not declare an end to the drought if Northern California, including the Sierra Nevada mountains, is spared rain and snow, Tardy said.