Photo: Carl Grooms
LEARN THE RAINY DOS AND DON'TS
Southern California is dry so much of the time that it’s easy to forget how to respond when it rains hard enough to produce floods and mudslides.
FLOODS / SLIDES / STORMS
During a Storm
Photo: Carl Grooms
DO
IF YOU NOTICE A MAJOR MUD SLIPPAGE EITHER ABOVE OR BELOW YOUR HOUSE:
Move your family to a safe location and notify your neighbors and County officials, as appropriate.
CHECK DRAINAGE SYSTEMS AT YOUR HOUSE AND DRIVEWAYS
To maintain a safe situation and limit damage from backed up water.
WATCH FOR SIGNS OF POTENTIAL MUDSLIDES AND ADJUST DRAINAGE
To reduce the risk.
KEEP FAMILY AND ANIMALS INSIDE AND AWAY FROM RAPID WATER
DON'T
CROSS RAPIDLY FLOWING STREAMS
Stay on one side until the water recedes. Most streams in this area recede in a couple of hours once it stops raining.
DRIVE THROUGH FLOODED INTERSECTIONS OR FLOODED ROADWAYS
Particularly when flooding signs are posted.
IT DOES RAIN IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Mother Nature dumped a record 64.82 inches of rain on the Robinson Road area of Topanga in 2004–2005. This topped the 55 inches that fell in both 1978 and 1998. Data kept by Lee Haines, founder of the Pierce College weather station in 1949, and augmented by Topanga residents in recent years, showed an average of 24.9 inches of rainfall in the Canyon over the past 45 years.