With forecasters predicting a strong El Niño this winter, Mayor Daniel Lurie declared a local emergency on Friday, a move he said would let city departments prepare before the worst of the weather arrives.
Speaking at a news conference on the Embarcadero, a stretch of waterfront that already floods during seasonal king tides, Mayor Lurie said the city was already seeing effects of the changing conditions. Elevated high tides are expected from Tuesday through Saturday; king tides are anticipated from November through January.
“This emergency declaration will allow city departments to move faster, to get the equipment and services that they need,” Mr. Lurie said. He said it would “cut through the usual red tape” so departments could manage critical infrastructure and act quickly.
“This city, and your city, is doing its part,” Mr. Lurie said. “Now it’s time for every individual, family and business to take action.”
“The time to prepare for major storms and coastal flooding is before it arrives,” the mayor said. “Our city is taking action now.”
Mary Ellen Carroll, director of the Department of Emergency Management, said the National Weather Service expected a “strong to very strong El Niño into early next year.” She said the city was preparing for two kinds of threats: heavy rain and wind that can flood streets, topple trees and knock out power, and higher coastal water levels that can inundate low-lying waterfront areas during high tides, “even on a dry day, like today.”
Carroll said her department began ramping up citywide planning in September, working with the Weather Service, utilities and community groups. She said the declaration was about preparedness, “getting our contracts, equipment, and other resources in place before the impact occurs,” including generators, pumps and portable restrooms.
She said the city had drawn lessons from the New Year’s Eve storm of 2022–2023 and the storms that followed: coordinate closely with the Weather Service, activate early when conditions warrant, and be ready to sustain a response through repeated storms and holidays.
Carmen Chu, the city administrator, said departments would spend the coming week putting up temporary storm and flood barriers along the waterfront, buying sandbags for city facilities and community spaces, stocking water pumps and other heavy equipment, and doing preemptive tree maintenance.
Chu compared the strategy to a familiar parenting scramble. “For anybody who has had a child who is in this Pokémon craze, you don’t want to be the last person in line paying marked-up prices for whatever is left on the shelf,” she said. “And that’s exactly what we’re talking about here.”
Lessons from 1997–98
Supervisor Matt Dorsey, whose district includes the area where the news conference was held, recalled the El Niño of the winter of 1997–98, which he said remained the most serious the region had experienced.
Over that winter, he said, San Francisco received 47 inches of rain, “more than twice the normal rainfall.” Statewide, 17 people died in storms, and the storm also caused property damage equivalent to more than $1.8 billion in today’s dollars.
Dorsey said former President Bill Clinton had been “an amazing partner” in the response. Speaking as chair of the Board of Supervisors’ budget committee, he added: “I don’t think we have a federal partner like that right now. So that really raises the stakes.”
Dorsey will preside over a hearing next Thursday before the board’s Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee to examine the city’s readiness, including whether departments are coordinating effectively, whether infrastructure is prepared, and whether public awareness efforts are adequate. He said he also wanted to hear what the board could do to be “a full partner” in the effort.
“We cannot control the weather,” Dorsey said. “We can’t know if what’s going to happen this winter is going to be as bad as it was in the winter of ’97 or ’98. But we can be prepared for it.”
Waterfront low points
Port of San Francisco director Mike Martin said the agency was focused on fortifying the waterfront’s known low points before storms arrive. The location of the news conference, he noted, floods during regular king tides, “and we know it’s going to be worse this year.”
Other vulnerable spots include Pier 45 at Fisherman’s Wharf and Piers 80 and 96 on the southern waterfront. The Port plans to raise shorelines at those sites and keep pumps ready for any water that overtops them, he said.
Asked about a long-discussed seawall project along the waterfront, Lurie said work was continuing with state and federal partners but that the project was “still years away.” He said the city would need “a lot of dollars from the Feds, which we don’t expect to come over the next couple of years.”
“But we have to be ready this fall and this winter for what’s coming,” he added.
Fire Chief Dean Crispin said the department had evaluated its facilities, some of which lie in potential flood zones, and might have to move equipment or change response routes during heavy rain. Because saturated ground brings down trees, he said, the department would position units other than fire trucks, equipped with chainsaws, to stay at scenes until Public Works crews could cut up fallen trees.
Officials said they were also preparing for broader disruptions, including hundreds of downed trees, power lines and possible blackouts, as well as sheltering and support for residents. City Administrator Chu told reporters holiday travelers should expect possible delays and arrive at the airport early.
Responding to a question about flooding in the Folsom Street and South of Market areas, Public Works director Carla Short said crews were cleaning catch basins ahead of the rains and referring those that cannot be cleaned from the surface to the Public Utilities Commission.
What residents can do
Public Works, which maintains a stockpile of about 20,000 sandbags at its operations yard, gives up to 10 free sandbags to residents who have experienced flooding before. The yard is open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Officials said the city would also hold “Sandbag Saturday” events on Nov. 7, 14, and 21 at locations still being finalized.
The Public Utilities Commission runs an Adopt-a-Drain program in which residents volunteer to keep a neighborhood storm drain clear of debris. Dorsey said his office had adopted one at Eighth and Natoma streets and named it “Sewervisor Dorsey.”
Officials urged residents to:
- Sign up for AlertSF by texting their ZIP code to 888-777.
- Visit sf.gov/storms for information, including maps of flood-prone areas.
- Restock emergency kits, move belongings out of low-lying areas, and clear leaves from drains.
- Check on neighbors who may need help, particularly during power outages.
- Never drive through floodwater, however shallow it may seem, and stay away from downed power lines.
- Call 311 to report clogged drains, flooding, sewer backups, and downed tree limbs, and 911 for life-threatening emergencies.
“This city, and your city, is doing its part,” Mr. Lurie said. “Now it’s time for every individual, family and business to take action.”
