SAN JOSE, CA — San Jose has declared a state of emergency ahead of El Niño, giving city leaders more room to activate preparedness efforts before the winter storm season arrives. Officials say the move is meant to keep the city ahead of potential flooding, outages and other weather-related problems rather than reacting after damage begins.
Ray Riordan, director of San Jose’s Office of Emergency Management, said the declaration is designed to speed planning and resource deployment. The city is now working through possible scenarios tied to the coming weather pattern, even though the exact impacts remain uncertain.
Council approval clears the way for faster storm preparation
The San Jose City Council approved the emergency declaration to help departments move forward with advance work. That includes identifying vulnerable areas, securing supplies and lining up equipment needed to handle storm emergencies.
Riordan said the city already has response plans in place for major departments such as the Department of Transportation and Public Works. When rain projections rise, those teams can move into different staffing levels, including 24-hour coverage when conditions call for it.
Officials framed the declaration as a practical step, not a prediction that severe storms are guaranteed. The goal is to make sure city operations can shift quickly if weather forecasts worsen.
Emergency managers are planning for several possible weather outcomes
Although El Niño is approaching, San Jose officials said the specific effects are still unclear. That uncertainty is driving the city’s current strategy: prepare for multiple scenarios instead of waiting for one specific forecast to unfold.
Riordan said the city is looking at areas of concern and stocking the resources needed for storm-related emergencies. That preparation includes supplies, equipment and coordination across departments that may be called on if heavy rain creates problems.
City leaders said the emergency declaration gives them the flexibility to continue that work now, before winter storms arrive in force. It is part of a broader effort to reduce delays if the region starts seeing sustained rainfall or flood threats.
2023 storms still shape the city’s flood response plans
Officials repeatedly pointed to the 2023 storm season as a key lesson. That year brought a series of atmospheric rivers to California and exposed weaknesses that local agencies want to avoid repeating.
Chief Marcus Hernandez of the CAL FIRE Santa Clara Unit said local knowledge matters because some places have historically been vulnerable to flooding. He said the region has already seen what flooding can do, and that memory is informing present-day planning.
The focus on past damage is helping agencies decide where resources should go first. By reviewing what happened in 2023, officials said they can better anticipate where trouble may return if this winter turns wet.
PG&E stages crews and resources for possible outages
Utility planning was another major part of the discussion. PG&E said it has already staged crews and resources in case weather-related outages hit during the coming season.
Angie Gibson, the company’s vice president of emergency preparedness and response, said she is confident the utility has the plans and people needed to restore service quickly, safely and effectively. The company’s preparation is meant to reduce delays if storms damage power lines or otherwise interrupt service.
PG&E’s role is especially important because the impact of strong rain or wind often stretches beyond flooding alone. Officials said storm readiness has to include utility restoration, not just emergency response in the field.
Red Cross and CAL FIRE stress the role of community preparedness
The city’s roundtable also included the Red Cross, which said volunteers will be a critical part of any El Niño response. Officials emphasized that government agencies will not be able to handle every need alone if severe weather affects neighborhoods across the region.
That message was reinforced by the broader discussion of preparation at home and in the community. Leaders said residents should be ready for storm season even while cities and utilities build out their response plans.
The roundtable brought together emergency managers, fire officials, the Red Cross and PG&E to highlight coordination across agencies. The shared goal is to make sure planning starts now, before heavy rain arrives and response needs begin to rise.