Fresno Visalia, CA, October 22, 2026 —

Merced city and county officials are preparing for a potentially strong El Niño season, with efforts focused on creek maintenance, infrastructure repairs and public communication. The preparations are intended to help residents respond to potential flooding and evacuations.

Officials have declared states of emergency to facilitate creek cleanup and infrastructure work. The summary does not identify the declarations’ dates, the creeks involved or the specific repairs planned. It also does not name the officials involved or provide details about the process for carrying out the work.

State funding is being used for infrastructure upgrades, according to the available information. The amount of funding, the projects it supports and their expected timelines were not provided. The summary also does not specify whether any work has been completed.

Communication is another part of the preparations. Officials are developing public outreach in multiple languages and emergency alert systems to help inform residents about potential flooding and evacuations. Details about which languages will be used, how alerts will be delivered or when the systems will be ready were not provided.

The planning is informed by past storm impacts, though the summary does not describe those events or their effects. It also does not provide a forecast, identify particular areas at risk or specify whether evacuations are expected. The preparations address potential hazards; no specific flooding outcome or timeline was stated.


Story summarized from the original created by Elizabeth Wilson / The Merced FOCUS on www.kvpr.org, see more information here.

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