Heavy rains and high winds predicted; stay alert and report problems

With heavy rains and winds expected from Wednesday morning to Thursday morning, help keep Berkeley safe by doing your part to reduce hazards and flooding in your neighborhood. Report downed power lines, clogged drains, fallen trees, and other storm-related issues.

While official forecasts can change day to day, the outlook for Berkeley includes a wind advisory from 4am Wednesday, January 31 to 4am Thursday, February 1. The gustiest winds are expected Wednesday afternoon and overnight. A National Weather Service flood watch is also in effect for two days in the Bay Area, from 4am Wednesday to 4am Friday.

The combination of wind with drenched soil increases the risk of downed trees, which could also lead to power outages. 

Prepare, stay alert, use extra caution on roads, and report issues.

If your property has a history of flooding, use sandbags to help divert the path of water.

Sandbags are available at most hardware and home improvement stores. Additionally, a limited number of sandbags are available to Berkeley residents and businesses on a first-come first-served basis:

If you see damaged power lines or electrical equipment, call 9-1-1 immediately, then notify PG&E by calling 1(800) 743-5002. Do not touch or drive over a downed power line.

Call 3-1-1, (510) 981-2489, or key city lines to report clogged storm drains, fallen trees that block roads, or other storm damage.

After hours, you can also call these City numbers:

• (510) 981-6620, for clogged storm drains, flooding, street lights, or traffic signals
• (510) 981-6660, to report downed trees between 4 pm and 7 am

For issues unrelated to the storm, keep phone lines free by reporting issues via our Report & Pay Tool, or emailing customerservice@berkeleyca.gov.  

Prepare your household for winter storms

Other significant storms may lie ahead. Protect your home from possible flooding by taking steps to prepare:

• Clean on and around your property as needed, including gutters, rain downspouts, driveways, and culverts. Remove trash and debris around fences and gardens, and clear basement drains.
• Check submersible pumps and sump pumps to make sure they are operating properly.
• Keep flashlights and spare batteries on hand in case of a power failure.

Stay safe during power outages

Storm damage to power lines may cause outages. Stay informed by signing up to get outage alerts for your address by text, email, or phone. PG&E also has an online outage map, which is updated every 15 minutes.

If you experience a power outage, unplug or turn off all electrical appliances to avoid overloading circuits and to prevent fire hazards when power is restored. Leave a single lamp on to alert you when power returns. Turn your appliances back on one at a time when conditions return to normal. If you are driving and encounter a signal that is out, treat it as a four-way stop.

Help clean storm drains

City crews will be working throughout the storm to address storm-related calls, but you can help reduce flooding by examining the storm drains near you.

Before the storm arrives, you can use simple tools like a rake and garbage bags to remove debris from storm drains, a network that helps quickly remove surface water from our streets.

Fallen leaves and other debris can always accumulate, despite year-round efforts to maintain, inspect, clean, and repair the approximately 7,000 storm drains.

Learn more about how you can clean out storm drains near you through our Adopt-a-Drain storm drain program, where you can sign up to be a regular volunteer.

With the storm expected to bring heavy rain and winds, help keep your household and our community safe by reporting issues and doing your part to reduce flooding in your neighborhood.  

Links

• Winter Storm Preparedness (City of Berkeley)
• PG&E Outage alerts
• Report & Pay (City of Berkeley online reporting tool)
• Adopt a Drain (City of Berkeley)
• Berkeley’s Emergency Map