OC Residents Prepare For 2nd Wave Of King Tides, Possible Flooding
HUNTINGTON BEACH (AP/CBSLA.com) — Residents and city officials along the coast are preparing for a second day of high tide Friday.
Unusually high "king tides" will pull the Pacific farther ashore than normal, bringing ankle-deep seawater into low-lying coastal communities.
Tides are expected to reach almost seven feet starting around 9 a.m.
The tides, the result of an occasional astronomical alignment, caused some damage Thursday as they reached a record 8.4 feet.
"It was serious. Every house on this street flooded, luckily we are on pillars so we didn't have the flooding inside, but every garage flooded and some of the houses flooded," Sunset Beach resident Louanne Burnett said.
Occurring several times a year, king tides happen when the Earth, moon and sun align in a way that increases gravitational pull on the Earth's oceans, raising water levels several feet above normal high tides. The non-scientific term also refers to extremely low tides.
The city will be putting devices, which they will inflate in the storm drains to stop the flow of water onto the street.
They also have portable pumps they are bringing in to help divert the water from these flood-threatened areas.
Free sandbags for residents of Huntington Beach and Sunset Beach are available at Gothard Fire Station in Huntington Beach as long as they bring an ID and a shovel.
