With El Niño Winter Ahead, California Pre-Positions 4.4 Million Sandbags at 68 Sites
With an El Niño winter on the way, California is moving early to prepare for winter storms and flooding. The governor issued an emergency proclamation back on September 21, and the Department of Water Resources has been pre-positioning flood-fighting supplies ever since.
The stockpile is substantial: at 68 pre-positioning sites across the state, crews have staged 4.4 million sandbags, more than 52,000 feet of "Muscle Wall" modular flood barriers and 400,000 tons of rock. The state inspects 1,600 miles of levees every year, and the State Water Project delivers water to 27 million people.
Money has been flowing, too. Since 2019, the State Water Board has invested more than $329 million in stormwater projects, adding over 48,000 acre-feet of capture capacity per year. The Lookout Slough project added more than 40,000 acre-feet of flood capacity; $2.125 million went to Malibu Pier repairs and $16.2 million to Phase 2 of Surfers Point in Ventura.
Rescue and monitoring capacity is also being shored up: 13 local fire departments received swift-water rescue equipment, the state signed a satellite-data agreement with ICEYE, and the State Operations Center in Mather has been modernized.
It all amounts to an early start on what could be a stronger-than-usual storm season. Residents in low-lying areas, near waterways or in flash-flood zones should keep an eye on county and city flood notices this winter.
(Source: California Governor's Office news release, October 9)
Source: California Governor's Office
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 加州防洪演练资料图 Photo: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons
