Long Beach, CA – Streetsโ in the Naples โฃneighborhood of Long Beach briefly transformed into waterways Saturday as a powerful Southern California storm โฃbrought importantโค rainfall to the region.
As waterโ levels rose, residents found โคa silver lining in the unusual situation.โ Photos circulated showing two young cousins, Lazlow โand Layla Acuna, enjoyingโ the floodwaters with a ride on a neighbor’s kayak.
“It was crazy, โคbut โคit was also so fun because we where getting wet and everything,” Lazlow said.
“It was very fun, also,” Layla โขadded.
Over the โขpast 48 hours, some areas of Los Angeles County experienced more than 4 inches of rain. While rainfall totals for Long Beach haven’t been officially released, resident Danielโค Acuna, โfather to one of the kayakers, reportedโข water reached as high as an inch above his porch.
“It actually got up to an inch above our porch right here,” โขhe said. “When I came back,โค it started even gettingโฃ worse so it was a little scary, but I knew โฃthat it would be taken care of.”
City crews responded quickly, arriving with sandbags and pumps to clear the โคflooded streets. Within hours, the excess water was removed, and the area was deemed safe.
“It was coming up onโ the sidewalks,” said Anastasia Palmondon, a Naples resident. “Everyone was putting on their rainboots to โฃgo out โand chat with all the โฃneighbors, soโ we’re โคjust glad that itโฃ was taken care of and we can โleaveโ our streets now.”
City officials stated that some storm drain pumps โฃeither failed or were overwhelmedโ by the volume of rainwater. No injuries were reported in connection with theโ flooding.
Southern California experienced a brief respiteโข from the wet weather on sunday,โ but another storm system is forecast toโข impact the region on Monday, according to NBC โLos Angeles.โ Concerns remain for areas affected by โrecent wildfires,โฃ which are vulnerable to potential mudslides.
