After the first of two atmospheric rivers brought flooding, road closures and mudslides to Southern California on Thursday, Los Angeles officials are preparing for the next, larger storm set to arrive on Saturday night.
Kerjon Lee, spokesperson for Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, said the department responded across the county to calls about infrastructure, like roadways being flooded and localized flooding.
In the Palos Verdes Peninsula, mud and a mini rockslide shut down Palos Verdes Drive South till crews cleared up the roadway. Rainwater also flooded the 710 Freeway in Long Beach leading to flash flood warnings.
Lee says the department will have hundreds of staff on standby this weekend to monitor areas that might be vulnerable to mud and debris flow.
The upcoming storm could have “life threatening impacts” and could bring rain totals of 3 to 6 inches according to the National Weather Service. But, Lee said it’s not the amount of rain that puts vulnerable areas at risk for mud or landslides or flooding but rather, “where storm cells may park themselves and provide an intensity that either overwhelms the local stormwater infrastructure or causes mud debris flow and certainly in areas where there are hillsides rockfall is possible.”