Long Beach officials prepare for Tropical Storm Rachel's impacts: "This is a sobering reminder of the power of nature"

Long Beach officials issued serious warnings ahead of potentially destructive conditions on Sunday generated by Tropical Storm Rachel, which is expected to bring unusually high tides leading to urban flooding.

During a news conference on Saturday afternoon, Mayor Rex Richardson urged residents to avoid the Peninsula for the remainder of the weekend and stay prepared.

"This is a sobering reminder of the power of nature," he said. "We want to acknowledge that this is going to get worse in the coming days. So take this seriously and be prepared."

Richardson said crews were working to repair previous damage caused by high tides on Friday, which included eight red-tagged structures. The city issued a mandatory evacuation order on Friday for homes on Seaside Walk between 64th and 66th Place.

Preparations were being made in anticipation of even higher tides on Sunday. 

"These kind of impacts are not normal. They're unprecedented for our community," Richardson said. "These continued threats have brought significant, significant damage right to our shoreline's front door."  

The National Weather Service said Rachel is expected to become a Post-Tropical Storm by the time it makes landfall in the Mexican state of Baja California on Sunday, but its remnants were still likely to provide rain as far north as Los Angeles County.

Long Beach Fire Chief Dennis Buchanan said crews have placed and distributed more than 10,000 sandbags in anticipation of Sunday's tides. He encouraged residents to prepare "go bags" in case more evacuation orders are necessary.

"We've seen so much damage and we expect even more," Buchanan said. 

Conditions on the Peninsula in Long Beach are expected to remain critical into next week, said Councilmember Kristina Duggan, who represents the area. She said she's seeking long-term solutions to the increasing problem of high tides.

"We need to be implementing solutions now that will get us through this El Niño season and start working on longer-term solutions," she said. "In the meantime, I'm asking residents to continue taking these conditions seriously."