Unión del Barrio members, friends, allies, and community members:

Saludos comrades, we wanted to send a quick advisory to all our members who live in Southern California, Los Angeles to San Diego areas. As you may know, an atmospheric river is headed our way, which means there will be heavy rains and wind gusts, which will cause flooding and other damage. These heavy rains will hit hardest starting Saturday evening, with more forecast for Sunday night into Monday, with some rain continuing into Tuesday. Close monitoring should occur as conditions are always fluid and can change quickly.

From the looks of it, the Los Angeles area seems likely to get heavier rains, with warnings of “dangerous, even life-threatening impact.” Also, please remember that San Diego has not recovered from the floods that struck just two weeks back – so infrastructure vulnerabilities remain serious. Our goal is that all members, our familias, and as many comunidad as possible who are within our reach should be on alert, take precautions to stay safe, and make necessary preparations in a timely manner. This means that today, Saturday, February 3rd, if you have not done so, please run a checklist to obtain basic necessities and the best possible preparations, especially if you are in flood-prone areas.

The possibility of destruction of more property is real, especially homes and vehicles, as was the case in San Diego, where many homes/apartments were flooded, cars swept away, etc. Consider finding a safe parking location for your vehicle, especially if there are trees around, as wind gusts and or soil/root deterioration can cause trees or branches to fall on vehicles. Also, if possible, avoid driving as visibility decreases and hazards such as street flooding can result in accidents. If you must drive, ensure your wipers work properly, plan ahead so you can drive slowly, avoid tailgating by leaving room between you and the vehicle ahead of you, have your headlights on during the day, and avoid remaining on bridges for extended periods.

There are local neighborhood fire stations, parks, or other city-based distribution centers that offer free sandbags. In the case of Los Angeles, ‘key locations will also have sand’. For example, since our heavy UdB base-building work is in the South Central area, Fire Station 21 at 1192 E. 51st Street has both sandbags and sand. You can locate sandbags in San Diego at the various Recreation Centers listed in the San Diego Storm Preparedness info below. Supplies might be limited, and there is a risk that items such as this can run out quickly.  (General preparedness information: Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Ana).

Have a communication plan within your Bases and your CL – which will then provide the Comité Central with real-time updates as needed. It will be important to maintain communication with leadership to inform them if you are safe, as well as the safety of your families, and or neighborhood in general. This may require phone calls, text streams, and monitoring emails as best as possible.

What follows are suggested preparedness materials (there are more items one could add, but these are the basics):

• Water (one gallon per person per day).
• Canned foods and snacks (non-perishable).
• Flashlights.
• Fresh batteries
• Battery or hand-cranked operated radio (for news alerts and power is out).
• First aid kit.
• A fully charged mobile phone, with an extra phone battery charged or a pre-charged station/power bank (in case of a power outage).

We ask that if you have identified any major vulnerabilities for you, your family, and or home/ apartment/ property, please inform your Base Secre Politico immediately.

February 3, 2024