Low-lying Santa Cruz community prepares for more El Nino storms, flooding
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KGO) -- El Nino preparations are underway in parts of Santa Cruz where residents in one neighborhood were warned to prepare.
Residents living near Beach Flats Park want sandbags. They're filling carts, dollies, anything they can find to get the bags where they'll do the most good.
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"This is the lowest in Santa Cruz, the bottom of the bottom. This is what they're saying, this is going to flood first," said resident Steven Bargiacchi.
There's already standing water in a motel parking lot off Beach Street. That's why those who have lived here the longest are helping others.
PHOTOS: El Nino storms pound the Bay Area
The city is also helping by hosting an El Nino storm preparedness workshop for the Spanish speaking community.
"This area tends to flood, if we get heavy rains. And obviously with the river coming right through the city, we always pay really close attention to that," said Paul Horvat with the Santa Cruz Office of Emergency Services.
Families are learning which services are available, how to deal with an emergency, and where to find shelter in case of an evacuation.
A woman says she worries because she has four young children and wouldn't know what to do if she had an emergency during a storm. The city plans to check storm drains and pumps in the area, weekly during the winter.
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