SF Public Works hands out sandbags to residents ahead of Sunday storm

With more rain on the way, San Francisco residents are working hard to try to prevent flooding in their homes. KTVU's Amanda Quintana was at the sandbag event today where hundreds of people showed up, but they ended up running out of bags. A long line of cars circled around this parking lot and out along Lake Merced. All of these people trying to get their hands on sandbags ahead of a big storm Sunday and what's forecast to be a much wetter, stormier fall and winter. The sandbags are here for anybody. Anybody can come, lives in San Francisco, has a business in San Francisco. If your home or business has not flooded in the past, it's likely that it won't again. But if you feel like you need them, we have you covered. Public Works ordered 50,000 sandbags for the entire season, more than they've ever bought before. Usually they get about half of that. They're encouraging everyone to clear storm drains to help prevent flooding, but clearly residents are concerned. Obviously this year with the forecast being what it is with El Nino. We want to make sure people feel prepared and feel like they can do what they have to do to feel safe. Public Works knew they'd have more people show up than last week, but this is much more than they expected. They ran out of sandbags by noon, and this line is going to have to wait about 45 minutes until more show up. Man, there's no more bagging. So I think I'm going to go home now. Roman Muros had already been waiting 45 minutes by the time Public Works gave out all 1,800 bags they initially brought. He says his home has flooded in the past and he's worried it'll happen again. The driver sunk so all the water got in and my drainage is behind the garage door. First responders will have all hands on deck. Firehouse is open, every company is operating 24-7, so the fire department is ready to respond. Help us help you not have additional problems during this El Nino. Captain Ayers says if you don't need to go out in a storm, don't. If you have to, be aware of road closures and don't drive into standing water. If you do find yourself in some sort of water emergency, call 911, remain calm. The fire department, which we are all hazards, we have water rescue teams that are on duty 24-7 that will respond. And with so many electric vehicles in the city, they want people to be aware of a dangerous possibility. We do have a phenomenon that occurs with lithium-ion batteries that should you drive through standing saltwater and return home, there could be thermal runaway that may occur later, causing a fire within a home. Chief Crispin and the mayor's office want everyone to be aware of that. In San Francisco, Amanda Quintana, KTVU Fox 2 News.