CSUN Prepares for Effects of El Nino

To prepare for what some experts predict will be the worst storm season of the century, Cal State Northridge officials announced a series of emergency preparedness measures for the campus.

In coordination with the city and county of Los Angeles, CSUN officials and contractors are finalizing plans to minimize the risks of El Nino to the university and its population of more than 30,000 students, faculty and employees.

The measures include sandbags, emergency supplies, inspections of building roofs and drainage channels and evacuation plans. Also, roofs damaged by the 1994 Northridge earthquake are being patched.

“We’re preparing for the worst-case scenario and we are doing our best to provide the safest environment for students and faculty,” said CSUN Police Chief Edward Harrison, who is also the campus director for public safety.

Meteorologists and weather forecasters are predicting as much as three times the normal seasonal rainfall beginning in December as a result of the El Nino effect, which is caused by atmospheric shifts that push the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean closer to the South American coast.

“I’ve been on campus for 20 years, and what will happen here in the San Fernando Valley is that, if it rains for two or three days, we will be flooded without a doubt,” Harrison said. “Our drainage system is an older system and it will not be able to withstand the storm.”

The campus also plans to use shuttle vehicles to transport students and faculty to parking lots if they get flooded, officials say. Students and faculty stuck on campus due to storms will be provided with shelter in local housing areas, Harrison said.

Hildo Hernandez, CSUN’s director of physical plant management, suggests that students also do their part to prepare for El Nino.

“Students should wear the proper clothing to shed water, and shoes such as rubber-type boots. . . . Umbrellas are a handy thing to have as well,” Hernandez said. “They should also watch the news to prepare for the weather changes before they leave home.”