Evacuations are likely for people who live near the Arroyo Grande Creek as the next round of storms could send the water over these banks.
When heavy rains caused the Arroyo Grande Creek to overflow in January of last year several residents and businesses were evacuated. Now over a year later, it’s threatening to potentially happen again.
“Well evacuations do affect our business even the to-go business because not even the drivers can come and pick up food. The bigger companies don’t allow their drivers to get into evacuation zones to even pick up food so when an evacuation is happening, we usually have to shut down which means no business,” said Marios Pouyioukkas, Rock & Roll Diner owner.
Since winter storms that struck the Central Coast last year, Marios says his diner has invested money into prepping for more rain. “We did actually a ramp entrance all the roofs were redone for the rains,” said Pouyioukkas.
Last year’s winter storms also affected nearby homeowners like John Quintana, who says the damage to his place cost him about $10,000 worth of repairs.
“The roof leaked. It threw my skylights and all that. All the works been done and everything. It took almost a year to get that taken care of and now I just want to prepare a little better for this rain,” said John Quintana, Grover Beach resident.
Quintana fills up sandbags whenever big storms are once again in the forecast, just to play it safe. “I have a driveway that’s on a slope so the water hits my garage some of it seeps in so i just put some in front of my garage that’s all,” Quintana said.
San Luis Obispo County has made repair efforts to the Arroyo Grande Creek since last winter. Workers have removed vegetation and sediment within the channel. They also repaired the levee that was damaged when the creek spilled over.
San Luis Obispo County Office of Emergency Services says they are keeping a close eye on the Arroyo Grande Creek as the rain continues to fall over the next few days.
