SCE Helps Residents Prepare For Tropical Storm

Residents, city officials, and major utility companies like Southern California Edison are working together to prepare for what’s to come this weekend.

“My husband went to the City of Indio and picked up sandbags so that we could place them in places throughout our home where we might get flooded.” Celina Jimenez, a Coachella Valley resident says on preparing for the storm. 

Residents are continuing to prepare for what could be a record-breaking weekend. 

“We’re getting a lot of water, we’re getting toilet paper, paper towels. We’re gonna stay inside tonight, we’re gonna put on a movie, and we’ll be safe.” one visitor says.

Aside from stocking up groceries, and gathering sandbags to prevent flooding, many are concerned about possible power-outages.

Southern California Edison recommends that residents have emergency preparedness kits ready.

“This preparedness kit will include flashlights, we recommend flashlights over candles, simply because candles can also introduce another hazard in their home. They’ll also want to have extra batteries, bottled water and non-perishables.” Gabriela Ornelas says, the Spokesperson for Southern California Edison.

They also suggest including a written list of contact information for emergency departments and family members, in the case of a power outage. 

“Storms like what we’re expecting this weekend do have the potential to cause power outages, not just in residences, but in a community at large. So for example, traffic signals can be affected by a power outage, and if that is the case, we encourage customers to treat these intersections like they would a four way stop.” Ornelas says. 

With roads extra dangerous with rain and wind, SCE encourages folks to avoid them as much as possible.

“We’re encouraging folks, if they’re able to stay home and wait out the storm. Right now is a good time to go out and purchase some of those supplies so they can stay home and be safe during those conditions.”