Some agencies are declaring an emergency before El Niño rains start

As local governments brace for predicted El Niño storms by getting workers and heavy equipment ready to deal with potential floods and mud flows, they are also getting their emergency response powers in place.

Riverside County's Board of Supervisors has declared a local emergency already exists amid the imminent threat that El Niño-driven rains will overwhelm local resources. The San Diego City Council recently passed a similar measure.

San Bernardino County is considering similar action, said Gerry Newcombe, director of Public Works.

"We want to do an early resolution of, you know, emergency at our Board of Supervisors, and several other counties want to do the same thing," he said. Such action now would help the county quickly access outside aid if big storms do heavy damage that depletes the county's resources.
 
"When you make these local declarations, it starts to trigger a process where you're eligible for state and federal funding if there's a real disaster," Newcombe said.

Making an emergency declaration before the rains fall also enables the county to waive certain environmental permits and controls and move more quickly to help communities recover from damage, Newcombe said.

Los Angeles city officials have discussed the possibility of declaring a local emergency but backed away from the idea pending any actual damage to the city.