Above: Parking at the Long Beach Peninsula. Photo by Asia Morris. Below, left: The Los Angeles River at Carson Street. Photo by Cindy Allen.
Fire Department crews are warning residents of the Long Beach peninsula of potential storm surge danger.
“We’re anticipating some weather coming in, so we’re taking precautions with the community, to let them know we’re here, we’re out in the community,” said Long Beach Fire Department (LBFD) spokesman Jake Heflin.
“If there’s a lot of running water, moving water, we don’t want people driving through it and we don’t want them to get stuck,” he continued. “The point is that we are preventing and mitigating this impact potentially from the surge to the best of our ability with the berm.”
The City of Long Beach Department of Public Works is “working diligently” to build the berm, Heflin said.
He also urged residents to take the advised precautions, such as using sandbags.
“We have three different events happening here, we have not only the potential with the rain that we’re dealing with, but we also have the wind, which is creating a swell, and then we also have astronomical tides, so we’re dealing with those three different dynamics,” said Heflin.
The LBFD’s Swiftwater Rescue Team has also been activated to patrol the Los Angeles and San Gabriel flood channels. Heflin warned that the fast-moving water can be deadly.
“If we see people out there, we’re telling them to get out,” said Heflin. “You don’t need to be standing in very much water to be swept off your feet.”