The Weekly Newspaper of Torrance Herald Publications - Torrance, El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Hawthorne, Lawndale, & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 5, No. 49 - December 3, 2015 Inside This Issue Certified & Licensed Professionals.....................10 Classifieds............................4 Community Briefs...............2 Film Review..........................4 Legals....................................8 Police Reports.....................2 Real Estate.........................12 Sports....................................5 TerriAnn in Torrance..........6 Weekend Forecast Chilly Morning for Turkey Trot Many participants braved the cold for the City of Torrance’s “Turkey Trot” a Harry Sutter Memorial Fun Run. Talking turkey: From left to right, Council Member Geoff Rizzo, Mayor Pat Furey, Guest of Honor “Turkey” and Council Member Gene Barnett. For more photos see page 7. Photo by Cristian Vasquez. • City Prepares For El Niño Winter, Possible Emergency Situations By Cristian Vasquez As Southern California embraces for the weather changes to be brought by El Niño, the City of Torrance has not sat idle in preparing for the climate phenomena. El Niño is associated with a warming of the sea’s surface temperatures in the world’s tropical regions in the Pacific Ocean, mainly those regions west of South America. Due to the warming of these ocean surfaces there is a high probability that the amount of rainfall in Southern California will rise. The most significant weather pattern changes are expected to occur in January but there is not much information available as to what exactly that will mean for the Southern California region, or specifically the City of Torrance. “This information we get weekly from Cal OES [California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services]. Right now they’re estimating that there is a 3.4 degrees change in the warming temperature of the Pacific Ocean but right now they are waiting for the atmosphere to sync up,” Emergency Services Manager Soraya Sutherlin said during a presentation at a council meeting last month. “I can’t stand here and tell you with any definitive answer that we are going to have an El Niño; even the best scientific estimates are not confident about what that is going to look like and how it will play out.” With predications stating that there is a 58 percent chance of an El Niño winter, which is actually less than the 65 percent calculations made in October, the most significant change in weather patterns are expected to take place between December 2015 and March 2016. Meteorologists are labeling this year’s El Niño as weak but one that will result in large weather extremes, either wet or dry. In preparation for copious amounts of rain, the city has begun developing an El Niño Resource Webpage [soon to come], which will provide a series of informational videos aimed at preparing the population to respond to sever weather, including flood data. The city also plans to use social media to communicate with residents, coordinate operational area planning and messaging, as well as cleaning flood control channels, local storm drain gutter inlets for trash causing clogs. “We are going to be making a series of informational videos to provide the community with content on what they can do, how they can prepare, and some of our flood data will be on that webpage,” Sutherlin said. “We are working heavily with our public works department in ensuring that our flood control channels are clear, are open; there’s continuous monitoring of our storm drains. We are on a rotation where we are aware if something happens before it becomes a major problem.” The city is also testing its generators to ensure that in the case of an emergency, they are ready to be used. In addition, the city’s municipal planning is working with all departments’ staff to ensure that city services will not come to a complete halt in case of an emergency. City Transit has developed a comprehensive plan that includes alternate routes, even third-option routes, in case of an emergency where the city’s streets were impacted. Infrastructure assessments have also been conducted in order to mitigate any issues ahead of time. “We have been looking at the inventory of our supplies, equipment and vendors,” Sutherlin said. “We have also been looking for alternate fueling locations for our transit vehicles and other vehicles in the city in the event that vendors can not come into the city, for whatever reason, to provide that fuel.” Just as important for the city is that residents be prepared for any possible disruptions due to weather; that includes being ready for the loss of utilities such as electricity, water and phone lines. Other suggestions to avoid difficulties in the scenario of heavy rainfall include clearing gutters, checking roofs for weak spots and possible leaks, and by simply becoming informed about how to prepare and react to severe weather emergencies. “Emergency kits, go-kits and generators may become our reality especially when it comes to utilities,” Sutherlin said. “If you see a problem and think it is a small issue, report it. A small problem can become a big problem so we rather get ahead of that issue.” The presentation did highlight that many home insurance policies do not include flood protection; furthermore, it takes 30 days after purchasing insurance for coverage to take effect. The city has used census data to pre-identify populations, such as seniors, that are potentially at risk and provide items such as sandbags. Sandbags will be made available at the city yard via the public works See El Niño, page 10 Friday Partly Cloudy 68˚/51˚ Saturday Sunny 77˚/51˚ Sunday Partly Cloudy 76˚/51˚
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