Beach cities prepare for flooding as yet another storm hits Southern California

After suffering some damage during last week's storm, Seal Beach and Long Beach are among the many coastal communities ramping up their flood prevention efforts as yet another atmospheric river hits Southern California.

Last week, parts of the Seal Beach Pier were damaged as high surf and a powerful storm drenched the Southland, causing additional concerns for many in the area. As a result, the pier has been closed since Friday. 

Public Works crews dug a deep trench along the beach to direct storm water back into the ocean in hopes of preventing flooding in the area and worked to gather pilings from the damaged pier that broke loose and washed ashore the beach. 

Additionally, volunteers with the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) filled sandbags to provide to home and business owners looking to protect their homes during Monday's storm, and another potential storm heading in over the weekend. 

"When we receive heavy rain, our citizens need to come and get some bags for their porches, for the areas in the alleys where they live, any area that might get inundated by the rain," said Vicki Davio, a CERT member. "They really appreciate it."

"Now that we know that there is a big storm coming this afternoon and then through the weekend, we wanted to make it even easier for the community to help protect their homes," said Seal Beach Captain Nick Nicholas. 

At Bolsa Chica State Beach, crews were busy cleaning up the remnants of last week's storm along Pacific Coast Highway, which was covered in debris and caked sand. 

In order to protect residents interested in witnessing the strong surf and power of Mother Nature, law enforcement is considering closing the beach off to the public. 

"We may have to close the beach if there's lightning within 10 miles," said Seal Beach Marine Safety Chief Joe Bailey. "We track that constantly. The pier is currently closed and will most likely remain closed until this next weekend due to this big storm and big surf coming in." 

Units were expected to patrol beaches as soon as 5 a.m. Tuesday morning to make sure that no one was putting themselves in danger.