Neighbors kayak in the streets as Long Beach is hit with street flooding
By Tim Pulliam
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LONG BEACH, California (KABC) — Long Beach dealt with major street flooding on Saturday after a storm brought heavy rain through the area.
Many neighborhood streets looked like rivers, and some residents even got out on the water on kayaks.
Although the water had drained by Saturday night, many neighbors say they aren’t taking any chances with more rain in the forecast. Eyewitness News spotted many homes with sandbags outside.
Neighbors on Naples Lane in Long Beach sloshed through murky rainwater on Saturday.
Tim Morrisse captured video of flooded streets around his neighborhood. One shot shows his dog trying to wade through the water.
Forget the beach — families made the most of the weather event. The rainstorm transformed their neighborhood sidewalk and street into a shallow pool.
“The water just started coming up really fast,” Morrisse said.
Overnight, Long Beach was walloped by water. Neighbors took cover underneath hoodies and umbrellas.
By Saturday afternoon, Morrisse and his neighbors living near Naples Lane and Ravenna Drive were overwhelmed. He admits he was not completely prepared for the rain.
Video shows the water getting too close to residents’ garages.
“I put some sandbags around the house. It’s almost in the house. It’s a little scary,” Morrisse said.
Morrisse said this typically happens when there’s heavy rain and storm drains are clogged, and he believes this is one of the worst times he’s seen the flooding.
The Long Beach Public Works Department said there was a power outage that caused a couple of L.A. County-maintained pumps to go offline. Officials said work is being done to minimize the impact.
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