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Scripps launches flood alert system in Imperial Beach

Posted at 5:46 PM, Nov 14, 2018
and last updated 2018-11-14 20:48:01-05

IMPERIAL BEACH, CALIF. (KGTV) - The City of Imperial Beach is getting a big help for its emergency management from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

A $250,000 donation from the David C. Copley Foundation is funding a flood alert system monitored by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego 

The Resilient Futures program will create a flood alert system customized to the specific needs of Imperial Beach. A network of instruments to measure local wave and water level conditions

It is something that people are concerned about and they want to know how often is this likely to occur as sea levels continue to rise,” said Mark Merrifield, the director of the Coastal Data Information Program at Scripps.

Imperial Beach is one of the most vulnerable in California to sea-level rise as it experiences flooding during periods of extreme high tides and winter swell.

The main data gathering buoy is 2-miles off the coast and already transmitting data back to scientists.

Scientists say it is their intention to develop the program in IB and expand to other beach communities.