Remember those heavy winter rains? Well, they may have prepared the county for Hurricane Hilary.
“Reach back to that and say, ‘What were the problems? What bothered me? What inconvenienced my lifestyle? And then mitigate those,” Chris Heiser, with the city of San Diego's Office of Emergency Services, said.
He recommends planning ahead for what you might need. For example, if you needed sandbags then, you’ll probably need them again. Also he suggests stocking up with necessary supplies through Monday.
“Think through the what if’s," Heiser said. "What if the power goes out? High winds can result in power outages ... So, 'am I ready for a power outage? Do I have enough battery life on my cell phone, so I can maintain contact with family members? Do I have backup batteries for my laptop so I can maintain my situational awareness.'”
Emergency resources
- Sandbag pickup locations available here. Call these numbers to check for availability first.
- Information on road closures
- SDG&E power outage map
- Reporting road-related issues
- National Weather Service
- Tips for driving in the rain
Heiser said the rain will likely flood areas that normally flood — like Mission Valley — where warning signs will be displayed.
“The first thing we’d ask is if the signs are there, they’re there for a reason,” Heiser said. “Don’t become a part of the problem.”
Also, if you don’t have to be out, don’t be out, but if you do, drive with extreme caution, he said.
“When it rains, the freeways get slick and you’ll see a significant number of traffic accidents. It’s ok to slow down,” Heiser said. “It’s ok to recognize that hydroplaning is something that is extremely hard to recover from.”
The city has an emergency dashboard on its website where the public can monitor the storm and find resources. You can also download the county’s Alert San Diego App for notifications.
