Oceano residents should prepare for flooding, evacuation during storm, SLO County says
Oceano could see another round of flooding this week when a rain storm is slated to slam into the Central Coast, according to the San Luis Obispo County Office of Emergency Services.
Oceano residents living in “low-lying areas south of Highway 1 along the Arroyo Grande Creek Levee and near Oceano Lagoon” should be prepared to evacuate if the areas floods during heavy rains, the agency said in a news release.
Rain will begin to fall in San Luis Obispo County on Thursday evening, with the heaviest rainfall predicted for Friday, The Tribune previously reported.
San Luis Obispo County could get up to 8 inches of rain Thursday evening through Saturday morning, according to the National Weather Service.
“We are predicted to see 3 to 5 inches of rain with the potential for four to eight inches from this storm,” Emergency Services Manager Scott Jalbert said in the release. “We urge residents to be prepared for possible flooding due to ground saturation and creek levels.”
SLO County: Arroyo Grande Creek Levee could breach during storm
The Arroyo Grade Creek Levee was damaged during a series of storms in January.
The San Luis Obispo County Public Works Department permanently “reinforced the levee for 1,000 feet along the mobile home parks,” the Emergency Services release said, and temporarily repaired another 1,000 feet of the levee.
Those repairs may not be able to withstand the upcoming storm, the county warned.
“Heavy rain is predicted similar to the intensities experienced in January and any spillover or levee failure could happen quickly with little time for residents to be alerted,” Emergency Services said the release.
SLO County will use wireless emergency alerts, broadcasts to local television and radio stations and potentially sirens and reverse 911 phone calls to alert residents of evacuations, the release said.
Public Works staff will monitor weather and streams around the clock during the storm, according to the release.
This story was originally published March 8, 2023 at 11:38 AM.
