SoCal storm: Long Beach Peninsula braces for flooding

Surfers out there trying to get some runs in right some surfing before it starts raining, although that doesn't really stop them too much, but we always advise you not to be out there in the water. We're watching the leading edge of the rain bands now moving into parts of Santa Barbara County and you can kind of see the last frame here as we zoom into parts of Ventura County now getting some of those light showers. We're seeing some heavier cells offshore and also picking up some lightning as you can see here. So that's why that chance for thunderstorms in the forecast today. So just be prepared for that. Grab that umbrella and that jacket before you head out that door. 66 degrees for downtown L.A. right now. 62 in Granada Hills. 57 in Pasadena. 34 in Big Bear. It's largely dry for most of us here. Ventura County or at least that very northwestern portion of Ventura County exception because they're seeing some of those light showers now. Out towards the Coachella Valley, it's going to stay pretty dry today. 10% chance for some showers. I think they'll get in on some of that action later tonight into tomorrow. 71 for the high desert, 58 for the mountains later this afternoon. The flood watch does go into effect today for portions of the Santa Monica Mountains, including the recently burned areas in the Palisades. Mud and debris flows possible. We've got 72 expected for downtown through the valleys and the Inland Empire, so much cooler. 75 along the coast with that beach hazard statement with more beach erosion expected. I'll go over the timeline with this storm system coming up my complete forecast in the meantime i'll send it back to you all right Maria as the rain arrives here shortly long beach is putting its storm plans into action Mario continues our team coverage right now he's live in the long beach peninsula with the latest on preparations there mario that's right and we're seeing the work continue to shore up this part of the coastline here in long beach uh we're watching some of the water here and i just got my shoes wet but yeah that's what we're talking about this water making its way up into the area but look They've got this massive barrier here, this sand. This is all new sand, and you can see how far it stretches out there. The crews have been working. Oh, and we really just got soaked out here. So high tide was at 730. It is now, what, 8 o'clock? So we usually see these strong waves for a few hours after high tide. So let's, as we back up, kind of continue to show you the work here. Be careful, Howard. There's a ledge right there that you're standing on. All right. They've been doing this around the clock, but they have to work around low tide. So this sand meant to provide that extra layer. And we're talking about a $12 million project, $11.4 million to be exact. And they're moving enough sand to fill roughly 125 Olympic-sized swimming pools by the time this project is all said and done. They hope to have the work done by November, but the project isn't scheduled to be fully completed until February. the the complete project hey paula come on over here if you can yeah i'm calling one of the homeowners over here so she can talk to me about the work that's being done because paula has lived here for 10 years at the corner and she at times has said that it feels like the house is shaking because of these waves so i'm going to quickly ask her what she thinks about the work um all this sand since the last time we were here all of it's brand new how has it changed it is it has changed tremendously we're not getting all the water that we were you were you got splashed. Hello, how are you? No, it has changed tremendously. It has helped us more here, but they're still getting hit over there. They built this almost like if it was twice the width that they can get double trucks here to work. They still can't because the water still takes most of it away, especially right here. I'm impressed to see the amount of sand they brought in such a quick amount of time. No, they're working day and night, day and night. They're doing an incredible job. And if they keep this up, then I do believe that we'll be safe for the next coming attacks. I call them attacks. Yeah, attacks, okay. The house is so shaking like crazy. We still feel that day and night, but at least now we know that it's the impact that it's over there and not necessarily here. Thank you, Paula. Thanks for talking to us. So that's one of the residents here. We're keeping an eye on other parts of the coastline. Let's go ahead and check in with Gigi Graciette. She's in Malibu. Hey, Gigi, what are you seeing out there? Good morning, Mario. While they're moving sand where you are, here they're moving rocks, boulders to be exact, and very heavy ones trying to shore up the line here after part of the street collapsed. Now we're on Westward Beach Road. If you're familiar with Malibu, this is right across the street from the Sunset Restaurant. You can see that excavator hard at work, and they're doing something called boulder armoring. Public work crews are stacking heavy six-ton boulders along the shoreline to try and block high tides and stop the rest of the road from collapsing. Now, take a look, because the city of Malibu shared a picture, because not only did part of the road collapse, but it took with it an underground water main, forcing for a time the closure of Westward Beach Road. It is reopened. We'll talk about that coming up. The city of Malibu sharing the photo of the unprotected pipe. Now, this caused some serious complications and forced the city to jump into action to try to shore up the shoreline right here. Now, early this morning, about 727, we had the first high tide, high tide in the afternoon, expected at about 651 this afternoon. So they are working very hard, especially to get this done before the storm arrives. And let's bring it back here live. Let's talk about some of the closures. again. Westward Beach is open. Birdview is also open. But the road up to Point Dume State Beach is closed because of all the heavy equipment. And I'm going to ask Brian Shaw to pan over just so you get a perspective of how close this is to the Sunset Restaurant. It's iconic. It's been here for decades. The building is even older. And yesterday, the restaurant's owner took to social media to tell folks, hey, we're open. Please come and support us. We are open, even though all of this construction is going on right here. Again, Westward Beach, it is open. But if you're heading to Point Dume to the beach, you're going to have to run in, walk in, cycle in. It is closed to cars right now. Reporting live, I'm Gigi Gracia. Back to you.