Seal Beach prepares for strong El Niño flood risks

Seal Beach officials are preparing residents for a potentially record-strength El Niño season that could bring coastal flooding, high surf and heavy rain from December through March, Voice of OC reported.

The preparations come as other Orange County coastal cities, including Laguna Beach, Dana Point and San Clemente, have declared emergencies after high tides and surf damaged coastal areas.

At a Sept. 14 City Council meeting, Climate Scientist Dr. Daniel Swain warned that the developing El Niño has a strong chance of ranking among the most intense on record, according to Voice of OC.

"There’s a very high likelihood, something like 95% to 99%, it’s about as certain as we can get in the predictive world that this event will become among the strongest on record," Swain said at the meeting. He added, "I mean we’re pretty much already there."

Swain said El Niño’s peak intensity is expected between October and December, with California’s strongest effects typically arriving one to three months later. Voice of OC reported that the highest risk window for coastal flooding and rainfall is expected from December through March.

Seal Beach is moving up work on its annual 14-foot winter sand berm, staging pumps and barricades and monitoring National Weather Service forecasts, tides, surf and field reports. "The city has several measures in place and has already exercised many of them. Staff monitor National Weather Service forecast, tide, surf and conditions reported from the field," Seal Beach Police Sergeant Brian Gray said.

Senior Engineer David Spitz said the berm is meant to lessen wave force, not stop all flooding. "The ocean water, especially during storms, will run up and over it. It will run around it. If it’s a very intense storm, it might eat through parts of it. But what the berm does do is reduce, significantly, the impact of the force of waves during storms," Spitz said.

The city plans to offer free sandbags at Arbor Park, Fire Stations 44 and 48 and Marina Park during the rainy season, Voice of OC reported. Seal Beach PD also plans to host a flood mitigation workshop on Oct. 6.

Swain said residents should act before winter conditions arrive: "The time to prepare is now, so I’m glad we’re having this conversation in September and not in December."