Malibu and Pacific Palisades Prepare for Storm: Flooding and Mudslide Risks

Storm Preparations in Malibu and Palisades

• 🌧️ Malibu and Pacific Palisades are experiencing steady rain and cold weather as a significant storm approaches.
• ⚠️ Advisories are in effect, including a high surf advisory and a flash flood watch for Saturday, with potential for heavy rain rates.

Construction and Rebuilding Efforts

• 🏗️ Construction crews are working diligently to prepare sites, including demoing a basement and rebuilding a home, before the severe weather hits.
• 👷 Workers are facing challenges with clay-like dirt that makes work harder and requires machines to scrape.
• 🚧 Efforts include covering wood structures with plastic to protect them from rain and wet dirt.

Hazard Mitigation Measures

• ⛰️ Crews are working to secure unstable hillsides, particularly in recent burn scar areas, which are under an evacuation order.
• 🪨 Workers are protecting large boulders from potentially tumbling onto cars along PCH by covering them with tarps.
• 🚧 K-rails are being used along the coast, and some homes are being cushioned with sandbags.

Impact on Local Businesses and Residents

• 🌊 Residents are advised to steer clear of the ocean due to bacteria during and after storms, leading to a rare sight of no surfers under the Malibu Pier.
• ✈️ Some visitors, like Tim Ray from Maine, are cutting their vacations short due to the worsening weather.
• 🚧 Tanka Canyon Boulevard will remain closed during the storms, urging locals to stay indoors.

Reopening Delays for Duke's Malibu

• 🍽️ The famous restaurant Duke's Malibu, which planned to reopen tomorrow after a mudslide closure, has pushed back its opening to Christmas due to the current storm.
• 💧 The restaurant previously closed in 2011 due to a mudslide and is now planning to install a drainage system in the parking lot to prevent future issues.