Los Angeles County’s Black Residents Are Most at Risk in Major Floods

Cathy Castro, a 78-year-old retired language teacher, lives in the Mertz Del Amo Estates mobile home park, near the western bank of Compton Creek. During the rainstorms that blanketed California this month, the streets of her low-lying community “looked like rivers,” she said.

Even so, she said, most of her neighbors in the 500-unit park were more concerned about leaking roofs than the threat of flooding. As for Ms. Castro herself, she was keeping a close eye on the puddles growing ever deeper in the brick planters outside her home. If they overflowed, the water could seep down and damage her foundation.

In West Long Beach, Ms. Hollins has lived and worked for the past 30 years out of her one-story ranch house, set on a property lush with trees, native plants and shrubbery.

Despite the proximity of the river and how quickly a rainstorm can overwhelm the neighborhood’s storm drains, Ms. Hollins and her partner, Yardenna Aaron, did not realize the extent of the flood risk in the area. But they believe extreme weather is only going to worsen.

Ms. Aaron and Ms. Hollins picked up about eight sandbags from the Long Beach Fire Department last week and planned to return for more, Ms. Aaron said. Over the long, rainy holiday weekend, they arranged the sandbags around their garage and supply shed.

This year, they have “needed more tarps, more sandbags, and we had a handyman come out to fortify the shed ahead of time,” she said. “We’re learning.”

On Monday, buckets and jugs they had laid out on their porch to catch rainfall had filled up overnight. But the streets were clear of water, and the sun was out and shining.

Mark Abramson contributed reporting.