Bracing For The Storm
As the skies shine bright above CSULB, the university continues to prepare for this season’s strong El Niño forecast.
A task force convened last December to begin getting the campus ready for the weather phenomenon caused by above average warming of ocean temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. The weather brings in a possibility of heavy rainfall across the California coast, causing localized flooding. Comprising of 25 members from CSULB’s academic, administrative and operations areas, the task force works together to streamline the emergency preparation process and develop strategies ahead of the potential weather event.
“We wanted to make sure that we weren’t doubling up on work,” Allyson Joy, Assistant Emergency Management Coordinator, said. “We didn’t want to have members meet up and cover something that they had already covered during other meetings.”
A four-day rain event in January left half of the buildings at CSULB with leaking roofs that were repaired, Joy said. Although the storms have yet to make a big impact in Long Beach, emergency plans are in place on campus to accommodate any potential dangers brought on by the storm and preparations are underway across campus to fix known issues.
“We’ve cleared roof drains and, where possible, repaired roofs across campus,” Tony Malagrino, Director of Facilities Management, said. “We’ve tested and repaired, as needed, storm drains across the campus in the past months in anticipation of the heavy rains.”
Along with repairs, Malagrino said tests have been done on emergency generators and pumps across campus that will provide back-up power in case of a campus-wide power outage. He also adds that “thousands of sandbags” are currently deployed across campus in flood-prone areas, along with water diversion barriers to steer flood waters away from buildings. The school has a contingency plan in place which divides the campus into sectors with equipment in place nearby in case of an emergency. On-call managers and workers from each trade are also available to respond in case of an emergency on campus, he said.
CSULB also has an agreement in place with the city of Long Beach, Joy said, adding that they’re making sure the school and the city are on the same page when it comes to emergency planning.
While the sunny weather has many on campus brushing off El Niño, Joy said it shouldn’t be ignored.
“Just because you don’t see it doesn’t mean it isn’t happening,” Joy said. “It’s a global event even if we’re not getting it.”
Students, faculty and staff are asked to take a moment to log into their MyCSULB account and ensure their contact information is up to date in preparation for an El Niño event.
Written by Navy Keophan
