Coachella clean up efforts post Monsoon storm

Friday's heavy rainfall left overnight forced the city of Coachella to pump water out of flooded parking lots. 

Local business owner Oscar Gutierrez called the city to help with the clean up efforts. "I had to go get a mechanical pump and work on it last night because I didn't know if it was going to keep happening," says Gutierrez.

Gutierrez runs the Garibaldi Meat Market on Cesar Chavez and Avenue 50th in Coachella.

He says he did his best to protect his business's inside from flooding.  

"We had quite a bit of rain," says Gutierrez. "Surprisingly, very heavy, very heavy rain. A little bit stronger than the hurricane Hilary."

Our first alert weather team says almost an inch of rain fell in Friday's monsoon storm - but it came in much faster than what Coachella experienced during Hilary.

Gutierrez says everyone in the valley must prepare even if they are not in flood zone areas." You never know a generator or a pump, it's always well, especially here, that when something goes out, we have what we need," says Gutierrez.

He says he has never seen the parking lot filled with so much water - just specific areas. He says water accumulates typically in the corner, but the parking lot was full after Friday's storm. "So something that we have to look at maybe city engineers," says Gutierrez.

Regardless of the parking lot clean-up efforts, customers could still do their holiday weekend shopping. 

"People get scared because the water levels are high, and they're gonna get into cars and get their feet wet and stuff," says Gutierrez. "So it's very uncomfortable."

He says the family business has been in the valley for 30 years and 17 years in Coachella. He hopes the city continues to work on the infrastructure of the roads so flooding can be less of a concern. "We don't want to get flooded in or mud or whatever it is a lot of loss," says Gutierrez.

𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 :

- Avenue 53 from Genoa Street to Tyler Street

- Cielo Victoria at Avenue 48
- Avenue 50 at the Whitewater Channel

All other intersections have been cleared.