SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – Many organizations all across the county are preparing or have already prepped for the El Niño weather system.
The San Diego Unified School District is saying it’s prepared for whatever the weather system can bring and is making sure its community is protected.
“The safety of all is the utmost importance as we prepare our facilities for the Super El Niño,” Superintendent Dr. Fabi Bagula of San Diego Unified School District said. “So, I wanted to make sure that all of the teams would come together to really think about this. So not only what our families might need, so there's coordination with the city, what policies need to be put in place, which is why our board trustee was here, what our facilities need.”
The District held a press conference on Tuesday morning highlighting its efforts to prepare and protect students, faculty, and infrastructure.
“Our physical plant operations department PPO has been working to do all it can to prepare school buildings and campuses for intense rains and possible flooding, Drew Rowlands, the Deputy Superintendent of Operations at San Diego Unified, said.
The school district has been addressing known roof issues, unblocking storm drains, identifying other flood-mitigation measures, and gathering flood-control materials.
“It's everything from the top of the roof of the building all the way to the grounds to drainage around our facilities and just doing everything we can to make sure our sites remain safe for our students,” Rowlands said.
The Deputy Superintendent of Operations told ABC 10News that includes preparing at least 10 schools in known flood-prone areas within the City of San Diego.
“We can't change topography, right, but I think it is just our planning work. It's those same very basic things of just making sure our site drainage is operating well, our roofs are tight,” Rowlands said.
ABC 10News asked the District what preparations are being done after the storms to prevent mold, considering it’s popped up in other places in the county. District personnel told ABC 10News that if floodwaters do get into a school building, they’re prepared for that too.
