Raincoats alone won't cut it for many Southern Californians bracing for weather in the months ahead. This year's El Niño, projected to be the strongest on record, is increasing the chances of a wetter-than-average winter.
In response, Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency, urging Californians to prepare for back-to-back storms, periods of prolonged rain, flooding, coastal erosion and debris flows. SCE crews are keeping a close eye on conditions and are ready to help restore power as safely and quickly as possible should customers experience any storm-related outages.
Prepare now to protect your home and keep your household ready for emergencies or power outages.
Prepare your home
- Clear gutters and drains. Remove leaves and debris from gutters, downspouts, yard drains and areas where water could collect.
- Repair roof leaks and secure patio furniture, decorations and other outdoor items that strong winds could move. When using a ladder, stay at least 10 feet away from power lines.
- Know your flood risk. Check whether your home is in a flood-prone area or near a hillside, canyon or recent burn scar that could make it vulnerable to landslides. Contact your city or county for information about sandbag availability and local flood-preparation resources.
- Address hazardous vegetation early. Don’t try trimming trees near power lines. If you notice dead, dying or leaning growth close to power lines, call Southern California Edison at 800-655-4555 to submit a tree trimming request.
SCE recommends building an emergency preparedness kit now to prepare yourself and loved ones for El Niño storms.
Prepare your household
- Build an emergency preparedness kit. Keep at least three days of water, nonperishable food, medications, pet supplies and first aid materials. Include flashlights, fresh batteries, portable device chargers, a battery-powered radio and some cash. Store important documents in a waterproof container.
- Sign up for alerts. Confirm that SCE has your current contact information and enroll in local emergency notifications. Check the latest outage information at sce.com/outages or download the MySCE app for outage updates. Sign up for outage alerts to find out when your neighborhood may be affected.
- Get outage-ready. Charge devices, install surge protectors and learn how to open automatic garage doors and gates manually. If using a generator, operate it outdoors and never connect it directly to household wiring.
- Make and practice a plan. Decide where your household will meet if you become separated. Choose a trusted friend or relative outside the area as your emergency contact in case local communication networks become unreliable during an emergency. Make sure everyone has that person’s phone number and knows to call or text with updates.
If you come across downed wires, assume they are energized, stay at least 100 feet away and call 911.
For more information on emergency preparedness, visit sce.com/beprepared.
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