Helping her constituents weather what is expected to be a stormy winter, Councilmember Lorie Zapf put some muscle into filling sandbags in Mission Beach.

Were getting ready for El Nio, said Zapf. So were filling up sandbags and getting them out to seniors and disabled so that when the rains hit theyre already prepared.

The District 2 office is partnering with Urban Corps to fill hundreds of sandbags, just one way the City is getting residents in the beach communities ready for a wet winter. Zapfs office purchased the sandbags and the sand.

The City has been getting ready for El Nio for several months now, making sure our pump stations are working, getting more powerful pumps and making sure were prepared that way, said Zapf.

District 2 includes the flood-prone communities of Mission Bay, Mission Beach, Pacific Beach and Point Loma. Urban Corps will deliver the sandbags directly to people who need them, as calls come in to the district office.

My district is so prone to flooding, especially right down here at Mission Beach, that we wanted to help our residents, especially those that cant get out there to fill up sandbags, said Zapf.

Mission Beach resident Leslie Shirley has seen the worst of it. During previous storms the water rose to nearly three feet in the alley behind her home, with boats floating by. Shirleys husband is disabled and shes thankful for this measure of protection, which she describes as necessary.

To contact Lorie Zapfs office call (619) 236-6622.