The concrete is barely dry from the repairs made when storms in 2023 hammered California’s Central Coast and beyond. Yet already many of the hard-hit coastal communities are bracing for another possible drubbing with El Niño. From Santa Cruz to Big Sur to Pacifica, local leaders say they’re doing what they can to safeguard vulnerable infrastructure while heeding lessons from the past to improve their emergency response and better prepare residents for disaster. Such seaside landmarks as Santa Cruz’s West Cliff Drive, Capitola Village, scenic Highway 1 south of Monterey and the beaches of Half Moon Bay are among the areas where officials anticipate potential problems over the next few months. Many of these sites remain in various states of recovery from the turbulent atmospheric rivers of late 2022 and early 2023, which prompted a federal disaster declaration across much of the state.

Other El Niño forecast and preparation news:

• The Salt Lake Tribune: Will Super El Niño bring the West much-needed snow? For Utah, the answer is complicated.
• The Mendocino Voice (Calif.): The state has $1 million to watch the California coast through El Niño
• The Center Square (Calif.): California prepares for multi-billion dollar El Niño
• Grist: A monstrous El Niño has arrived. Here’s what it means for where you live.
• San Diego Union-Tribune: Record water levels caused by tides, El Niño are giving a stark preview of future sea level rise