La Quinta cleanup from “700-year storm”

The cleanup continues after Monday’s storm. City officials in La Quinta are calling it a “700-year storm” and say the City Council will consider declaring a local emergency next week.

“Typically the city of La Quinta receives 3.5 inches a year in rain. We had that much in an hour,” said Frank Spevacek, the city manager for La Quinta.

With that much rain in the city in such a short time is why it’s classified as a “700-year storm,” according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“A lot of our facilities are designed to handle 100-year storms, and so this was an epic event,” said Spevacek.

The rain flooded La Quinta homes and businesses, causing thousands of dollars in property damage for many people without flood insurance.

The city is now collecting damage reports from residents to help get federal or state funding to reimburse them, but resident Steven Gardner said the city needs to hit the streets to help those immediately impacted.

“If I was the city I’d be running the street sweepers 24/7. Help make the streets look good again,” said Gardner.

The National Weather Service said these sudden storms could happen any year during monsoon season.

“We really want to stay away from the 700-year or 500-year thing,” said NWS meteorologist Alex Tardy. “Maybe it’s a fact, but it’s really a percentage that we can get this type of rainfall, 2 to 3 inches of rain, in a short time, in an hour or two anywhere in the Valley. Should we be preparing for that? Absolutely.”

“They need to go fix the problem, is what they need to do because obviously there’s a huge problem,” said Gardner.

The City of La Quinta is working with Burrtec, to offer free curbside pickup of water-damaged bulky items, Sept. 13, for La Quinta areas heavily affected by the storm.

Residents are asked to place their items at the curb by 6 a.m. Saturday. Examples of these items include water-damaged carpet, wood flooring, furniture, etc. Pickup will continue until 2 p.m. The city asks that you do not use your regular trash bins for hazardous waste, including tires, batteries, paint and cleaners, which will not be picked up.

For residents outside the heavily affected areas, please call Burrtec directly at (760) 340-2113, and they will schedule a FREE pickup of your water-damaged items.

“We ask for the residents to be patient, our crews our out, we have contracted with additional private crews to cleanup and please send your damage reports here to city hall so we can get enough to make a difference,” said Spevacek.

To file a damage report, go to http://bit.do/flooddamage and provide detailed information regarding damage to your homes/property.

This information will assist in determining how wide-spread the damages were and will be used in estimating the total destruction amount for potential reimbursement. People without Internet access can call 760-777-7106.