Overview
- Federal forecasters at NOAA say there is about a 90% chance this year’s El Niño will be very strong, which raises the odds of wetter conditions for the Western U.S.
- La Mesa has formed a cross-department working group, inspected and cleared storm drains and created preparedness videos to identify and reduce local flood risks.
- The City of San Diego is expanding stormwater work after recent reviews, with crews maintaining more than 11 miles of channels last year and plans to work on over 20 miles in fiscal 2027.
- City officials will mail guidance to roughly 7,000 high-risk properties, notify about 180 private channel owners of maintenance duties, and urge residents to sign up for alerts and prepare emergency kits.
- Officials warn that even with extra maintenance systems can be overwhelmed during intense short-duration storms and point to the January 2024 floods as reason for stepped-up action and public attention.