SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — As Hurricane Hilary heads towards San Diego, emergency crews are preparing for potential heavy rains and flooding. Lifeguards and swift water rescue teams gearing up their rescue vehicles.
Lifeguards say it’s unusual for the county to have the type of weather that we’re going to see over the over the weekend, during the summer months.
“Our first responders personnel, we’re trained, we are always ready to meet the challenge,” says Lonnie Stephens with the Marine Safety Unit of the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department. “We are prepared, we have the staffing. We have the equipment and we have the training.”
The swift-water rescue teams will deploy on Saturday afternoon. There will be a three-person crews assigned to each vehicle.
Meanwhile, city crews are going into the riverbeds bow to look for people who are homeless that camp there. Heavy rain, in a short amount of time, can lead to flash flooding or cause rivers to swell.
It’s still too early to track just how much the county will get but emergency teams have a few tips for San Diegans.
Lt. Stephens says the best thing to do is stay home or indoors during this storm.
If you are out, don’t drive through standing water. Just six inches of water can sweep a person off their feet. As little as 12 inches of rain can move a car off its tracks.
Lt. Stephens also says people in the coastal communities should be aware of their surroundings.
“If you’re in the beaches and near the coastal bluffs, or any low-lying rocky areas, the bluffs could collapse with a lot of rain saturation.”
