Riverside County emergency team gearing up for east valley weekend thunderstorms

A team is standing by at Riverside County's emergency operations center in Indio, tracking potentially severe thunderstorms this weekend in the east valley.

Eric Cadden, the county's emergency management program supervisor, says resources are strategically being coordinated in case of emergencies like power outages.

"It's very important that you stock up on food and water, have extra battery chargers for your cell phones and for your mobile devices," Cadden said. "When the power does go out, it could be a few days before power is restored."

Monsoonal storm cells, which could be expected this weekend, have wreaked havoc on east valley energy infrastructure before.

A storm last August took down dozens of power poles, cutting the lights to more than 1,000 homes for several days.

In case that happens again, the county has preemptively placed industrial generators around the east valley. "These are large generators to power buildings for sheltering...or for cooling centers," Cadden said.

The North Shore Yacht Club, which has been used before as an emergency hub to distribute bottled water and warm meals, is now being retrofitted for those generators in case of a blackout.

"We'll also have boots on the ground to let us see what the potential damages," Cadden said. "Very important to stay away from those downed power lines because you just never know they could be live."

News Channel 3's Jake Ingrassia has more on this story tonight at 5 p.m.