Flood Watch: Laguna Beach Prepares For Rainy Week Ahead

LAGUNA BEACH, CA — Laguna Beach residents can expect another cold and rainy week ahead of them, the National Weather Service reported Tuesday. A cold winter storm is predicted to surge across the Southland Tuesday night, with rains and winds hitting the Golden State's mountain ranges the hardest.

The National Weather Service issued a Flood Watch in Orange County Wednesday morning, and the advisory is expected to stay in place until Thursday afternoon.

Laguna Beach residents can expect excessive water runoff resulting in the flooding of nearby rivers, creeks, streams and other low-lying and flood-prone locations. The National Weather Service advises that flooding may occur in poor drainage and urban areas. Flash floods and mudslides, they added, are possible especially near recent burn scars.

Residents living in or around Orange County's Bond burn scar area should be wary of flash flooding and mudslides. If advised to evacuated, make necessary preparations and leave your home immediately, the service said.

This weather event is the third in a series of powerful winter storms that rocked the Southland throughout December. During the cold storm that swept through Southern California Dec. 14, dramatic weather triggered flash-flooding that covered Laguna Canyon Road and left many Laguna Beach city streets underwater for several hours.

The early-December storm additionally resulted in Laguna Beach residents losing power, Patch reported in a previous article.

RELATED: Flash Flooding Rips Through Laguna Beach Neighborhood: Video

In coastal Orange County, residents can except between one to two inches of rain. Mountain residents should anticipate receiving anywhere between two to five inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service.

Laguna Beach city officials strongly encouraged residents to prepare for approaching storm by protecting their homes and businesses with sandbags.

SANDBAG AND FLOOD GATE PREPARATIONS:

Downtown business owners and residents should put your flood gates into place Tuesday night and Wednesday as a precautionary measure to protect property and inventory, the city advised. The City of Laguna Beach is providing pre-filled sandbags to residents and business owners from two locations.

Note: there is a limit of 10 bags per household. These sandbags are not for contractors.

• Act V parking lot – 1900 Laguna Canyon Road
• Aliso Beach East (inland) parking lot – 31118 Coast Highway

Empty sandbags are also available at Laguna Beach's four fire stations. They are free, however, you must provide your own sand.

Sand can be purchased at the following locations. Please call ahead to make sure sand is available and prices are subject to change. The City does not place sandbags for the public except where there are known problems of flooding from City Streets.

• Ganahl Lumber - 1765 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach - (949) 494-6538
• Home Depot - 27301 La Paz Road, Laguna Niguel - (949) 831-3698
• Home Depot - 24332 El Toro Road, Laguna Woods - (949) 598-9171
• Larry's Building Materials - 1975 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach - (949) 494-1107

Residents of Laguna Beach and Orange County should additionally sign up for AlertOC to keep informed about required actions or critical updates from your area. Visit www.alertoc.com and make sure you are tied in.