Wildomar held one of the first CERT (Community Emergency Response Training) information meetings in the County of Riverside Tuesday Sept. 15 regarding the threat of an El Nino this winter. The meeting, held at City Hall was  led by officials from CERT  who focused on the potential flooding, what to do and not to do as well as safety precautions people can take ahead of time.

Zusette Bricker, Emergency Services Coordinator Southwest Division spoke to a small audience interested in being prepared for the looming floods, storms and high winds.

The County of Riverside has 2.3 million residents in unincorporated and incorporated communities. Bricker said they are working with local city officials to make sure they have what they need to protect their residents.

“We are trying to preplan, flooding is one the most common natural disasters,” said Bricker. “All Cal-Fire Stations will have sand bags and we are already allocating supplies to areas known to flood.”

Residents can go to their nearest fire station and request sand bags to fill.

An El Nino is an irregularly occurring and complex series of climatic changes affecting the equatorial Pacific region and beyond every few years. It is characterized by the appearance of unusually warm, nutrient-poor water off northern Peru and Ecuador. Bricker expects the El Nino to last from November 2015 to March 2016. 

The storm that drenched Southern California Tuesday was, according to the National Weather Service, from remnants of Hurricane Linda, which dissipated in the Pacific not too long ago.  Linda was created out of warm ocean water that fuels an El Niño. 

Click on the green bar above for a slide show presented by CERT and City of Wildomar 

County officials are seeing a prelude of the possible flooding and dangers they face. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the 91 freeway had lanes closed and Cal-Trans reported flooding on the major route for commuters. A section of the 91 cracked and eroded due to flooding and the lanes were shut down for repairs near Corona. 

Bricker told the audience to avoid standing water when driving during any storm, to know ahead of time alternate routes to get home or to your destination and stay home during a storm if you do not have to travel.

Homeowners were advised to remove from their property any items that can fly away and cause damage to others or create a danger by being thrown around. Items during a storm that could be put away include trampolines, lawn furniture, grills, hanging pots, potted plants, toys, umbrellas and yard decorations.

Bricker also suggested checking if you have flood insurance. 

“I was at a scene where 16 homes flooded and all 16 thought they had flood insurance and they all found out they didn’t,” said Bricker.

It is also recommended to find out if your home is in a flood plain or if you have a blue line on your property.

“Keep your children and animals away from the blue lines when a storm is approaching, “said Bricker. The blue line is a natural waterway on a map and can flood or swell easily. 

“Know your flood risk and look into your coverage,” said Bricker. 

This article was posted earlier in the month but was lost during a server upgrade. Since the information remains relevant it was reprinted.