Thursday’s storm was just the beginning as the city crews and residents prepare for a larger, more intense storm set to hit Long Beach beginning Sunday afternoon.

The city could see between 3 to 6 inches of rain from Sunday evening through Monday morning at the storm’s peak, National Weather Service meteorologist Rose Schoenfeld said. The rain is expected to fall continuously during those 18 to 24 hours, before mostly clearing out by Tuesday.

Wind gusts are expected to be between 40 to 50 miles per hour, Schoenfeld said. Because of the saturated ground, high wind gusts bring the risk of fallen trees, mud on roads, and possibly power outages.

“A lot of the impacts Long Beach saw with that previous storm are likely pretty similar,” Schoenfeld said. The NWS advises people to avoid travel, especially during the Monday morning commute if possible.

Mayor Rex Richardson called a press conference Saturday afternoon at Long Beach’s regional distribution center to warn residents to be prepared and stay up to date with storm alerts.

Residents should prepare an emergency kit with necessary items like batteries, first aid items, medication and important documents as flooding is expected and evacuations in certain areas may become necessary. Richardson also advised residents to put an emergency plan in place and monitor local news and city updates.

“Tomorrow is not the time to get up on your roof to fix a leak,” Richardson said. “Do that today.”

Both Richardson and Long Beach Fire Department Capt. Jake Heflin urged residents to stay home and avoid driving, especially through flooded roads, or heading to the Los Angeles River or San Gabriel River to view the water.

“It’s a good weekend for Netflix,” Richardson said.

The city has cleared storm drains, conducted inspections of pump stations and seawall plugs, and increased staffing including additional swift-water rescue teams. Veterans Stadium has also been activated as a central location to coordinate the response from city teams to address the effects of the storm in real-time.

“We have portable pumps, vacuum trucks, emergency generators, lights and much more,” Richardson said. “More capacity than most cities in the state of California.”

Residents can sign up for Alert Long Beach here to get emergency notifications.

Residents can pick up empty sandbags with their ID at any Long Beach fire station. Sand is available at the following locations:

• Lifeguard Station located at 72nd Place and Ocean Boulevard
• Fire Station 7 (2295 Elm St.)
• Fire Station 12 (1199 Artesia Blvd.)
• Fire Station 13 (2475 Adriatic Ave.)
• Fire Station 14 (5200 Eliot St.). Note: Station 14 is temporarily closed for construction. However, sand and sandbags are located off East Paoli Way and East Third Street.

Sandbags will be continually restocked at these locations. The city has not had as much of a demand for bags because many residents kept their bags from Hurricane Hilary preparations last August, Richardson said.

Editor’s note: This story was updated to correct the location of the press conference.