SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — The City of San Diego has activated its emergency operations center in response to the heavy rain forecast.
“This storm will impact every area of San Diego County and it matches a 10-year record event,” said Chris Heiser, executive director of the City of San Diego’s office of emergency services.
Large screens filled with weather-tracking maps lit up the emergency operations center Friday while others showed emergency calls coming in.
Staff from various city departments were working to prepare to respond to the storm that’s expected to bring heavy rain to San Diego Saturday.
The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch until Saturday evening for San Diego’s coastal areas, mountains, and valleys.
Heiser said officials are preparing for flooding in Mission Valley and Fashion Valley as the San Diego River’s water levels rise.
“It will flood during this rain. How bad it floods is really dependent on does the rain fall in that river’s catchment area,” he said.
Lifeguards are on standby for any water rescues needed. Heiser urged drivers to respect road blockades in Mission Valley in areas that are flood-prone.
Last Month, lifeguards had to rescue several people trapped in flood waters in the area. One driver was rescued while sitting out of his driver’s window live on ABC10 News.
“We’re just waiting even though it doesn’t seem like it we’re prepared to make the rescues. It’s not if it’s when,” said Lt. Ric Stell of the San Diego Lifeguard service.
The city said it would be closing several roads in the Mission Valley area at 9 p.m. Friday.
Caltrans is asking drivers to use caution if heading out onto the roads.
It said it was sending resources into the mountains, which are expected to be blanketed with more snow Saturday and crews were preparing to be busy in metro areas.
“We’re cleaning drains to make sure that the drains are free so they can take the flow that’s coming from the rain events that are going to happen in the metro area,” said Shawn Rizzutto, district chief for Caltrans.
