A major storm system rolled through the northwestern portions of the U.S. earlier this week, leaving at least two people dead and knocking out power for thousands of residents.
The storm reached Northern California and now the Central Coast is expected to see remnants of the system this weekend.
KSBY News spoke with one official from San Luis Obispo County's Office of Emergency Services about how they are preparing for this storm.
Scott Miller, the emergency services coordinator for the county’s office of emergency services, says that the county’s public works department has been preparing for the winter storms before the atmospheric river moved through the northern portions of the state.
“Our public works department has been clearing out the storm drains and done a lot of sediment removal and vegetation management in some of the creeks,” said Milner. “They've also done a lot of work on like the Arroyo Grand Creek levee, done a lot of repair work since the last couple of years. And they've also put some concrete walls down the center in portions to further reinforce it.”
As the rainy season slowly approaches the Central Coast, Milner advises the community to clean out their storm drains ahead of winter.
“... This coming winter we may receive larger storms," he said. "So, as far as preparedness, clean out your gutters, clean out your storm drains, make sure any sump pump or water pumps are functional.”
KSBY Chief Meteorologist Dave Hovde in his forecast saidsome areas could see more than an inch.
Other San Luis Obispo County residents told KSBY News how they prepare for the heavy rainfall.
“In order to prevent going out into heavy rainfall or bad road conditions, I do like to buy groceries in advance or any other household items,” said Gladys Gonzalez, a San Luis Obispo resident.
“I just make sure that chairs and my umbrellas down and chairs are put away and things that could blow away,” said Susan Conners, an Arroyo Grande resident. “I watch the weather report just and kind of gear how I arranged by day around that.”
Milner says that READYSLO.org has a list of locations available as a resource for locating sandbags throughout the county.
For more information on emergency preparedness, click here.
