San Mateo Co. officials prepare for coming Super El Nino

A reporter, Jesse Gary, joining us now live in Redwood City, where Jesse, officials today unveiled a new emergency warning system ahead of the Super El Nino winter. Alex, good afternoon to you. And yeah, one county supervisor here in San Mateo says that he wants people who are living in remote, low-lying areas prone to flooding to leave now before king tides arrive later this month. For those who decide to stay, new technology that could allow officials to produce a warning up to one hour before an event. Friday, federal and local officials seeing firsthand some of the equipment and tech San Mateo County emergency preparedness has at the ready. We have entered a critical time right now of preparedness. This is crunch time. District 3 Supervisor Ray Muller says king tides will lash the shoreline in three weeks around the time of Thanksgiving. But officials say the normal seven-foot storm surge could be 10 feet or greater due to the impact San Mateo County is the most at-risk area for flooding in California due to extreme storms. King tides and sea level rise. 15th Congressional Rep Kevin Mullen says a partnership between the feds, UC San Diego, and the Western Center for Water and Extreme Weather means residents could get warnings of the worst much sooner. Combining data from National Weather Service radar and information from the county's hyper-focused ARIES system, alerts of dangerous and life-threatening events could be made 60 minutes prior to arrival. Utilizing the best science to enable localized information to better anticipate rainfall and extreme storms in ways that will enable our local communities to respond. That will give us greater detail and greater precision on where exactly in the county these may be occurring and how intense the rainfall may be. The vehicles and equipment on display in Redwood City are designed for remote area rescues and could be deployed more quickly. The best science in the world is worthless if we don't plan together and do something about it. Every minute counts during a crisis and timely, accurate information is the most precious tool we have. Officials ask residents in remote areas to prepare now before the king tides arrive by contacting their fire department or the EMS office. Replenish pharmaceuticals, test and repair sump pumps, get sandbags, and sign up for the county's emergency alert system. If you've ever thought about having a year to go visit relatives during the holidays, this might be the year. And we'll put information about the sandbag locations in this county on our website. Additionally, Rep. Mullen says that Congress, he's going to propose congressional legislation called the READY Act that will make sure that federal communications in times of disaster are up to snuff. We're live outside the county building here in Redwood City. Jesse Gary, KTVU Fox 2 News. Alex, we're going to go back to you.