Santa Cruz residents prepare for El Nino

“I want to know what I should do and what my family should do,” said Santa Cruz resident Victoria Downey.

With questions and concerns Santa Cruz County residents piled into the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium to get prepared for what could be adevastatingevent.

“We could be affected if there’s a 100 year flood,” said Mariposa Bernstein of Santa Cruz. “Things back up, trees get caught coming down the San Lorenzo River.”

A sandbag station and nearly 20 booths were at the workshop with city departments and community agencies offering advice on what to do before, during and after forecasted heavy rains.

“People need to store water at home, put together an emergency kit,” said Santa Cruz Fire Department Chief Jim Frawley. “They need to make sure that their properties ready. Clear the areas, clear the debris.”

Beach flats, downtown and lower Ocean Avenue are areas of concern.

“Those feed directly to pump stations and pump stationsdon’tlike trash and debris so we have to really monitor those,” said Chris Cave, Santa Cruz flood control manager.

El Nino storms can bring power outages, flooding and leave people trapped in their homes.

Matt Mcccaslin knows about that firsthand.

He worked with the Santa Cruz Fire Department during the El Nino storms of 1982, 97 and 98.

“People were being swept into streams and rivers andbeingwashed away,” said Mccaslin.

Officials say getting ready major storms needs tobe a top priority.