Disaster, step vaessen, al jazeera, jakarta. Thing you remember . I thought it was an ugly way to die. The el nino is larger than the godzilla elnino in 97 and 98. 20 years ago we talked about el nino being destructive. California is asking for it what will el nino bring, are we asking for it, and what are the signs that it is already here thanks for being with us, im joie chen. Somewhere out there beneath the shimmering waves of the california coast, somewhere out there is what expert predicts is a powerful system, its called a godzilla el nino, and it is guaranteed to have an enormous impact. Not just here on the pacific coast, but far inland and across the ocean. This is an el nino that will impact weather, wildlife and wealth. We begin our special coverage with oku. I ended up smashed against a house, and a beam pressed against my threat. I thought okay, if my throat breaks it will be more merciful than smothering reporter buried in a mudslide and condemn templating a way to die. Thats how dire the situation was in february 1998, the last time they were rocked by a powerful winter. Somehow the californians was wiped out by a wall of mud. Take me back to 1997 98. What were you doing, what were you participating. We were warned that el nino was coming. None of us had an idea of what to expect. We figured a lot of rain. Reporter back then the average californians had little understanding of el nino, the warming of the waters near the equator, or how it influenced the climate. The interesting thing is storms are not necessarily larger. Thats a misconception. Theres more of them. So its back to back to back, like a Conveyor Belt of storms. In october 1997 there was an ominous signs as to what lay ahead. A hurricane fuelled by elnino causing flooding and hundreds of deaths in and around acapulco. That moved north, the first of a number of storms battering california through february. If we look back to the winter of, for instance, 1998, we had a huge february. Where we had almost 5 times the normal rain call in february, that we normally get. More than 13 inches of rain doused los angeles. The wettest on record. By the time blue skies returned, 17 million lost their home. Laguna beach, an hour and a half mudslides. It came down, destroyed three or four homes and filled up the back end with mud. They were trapped. What you are describing was a life and death situation. Yes, yes, absolutely. And eventually they were telling us there has been a huge slide, the back of the house was bashed in. We worked with the neighbours to pull neighbours out. We took them into our house. As i gave them emergency evacuation instructions, the big one hit. Reporter the big one. We had a massive avalanche of mud, a debris flow that hit our home. The floor gave way, and the house, furniture, debris, four of us, actually, went down with the house, and the mud and the debris and the refrigerators. What are you thinking. I felt like i was in a washing machine. I was tossed and turned. Turned upside down, and eventually i ended up smashed up against another house, about a football field away, on my side. You were swept more than 100 yards away . Yes. Remember. Im thinking this will be an ugly way to die. Reporter ann suffered minor injuries, but a nab who took shelter in her home was killed. Over a decade later another el ninodriven storm would devastate the coastal community. In 2010, several days of unrelenting rain triggered mudslides again, and widespread flooding. More than 90 homes and several businesses were damaged. Learning from the past, laguna beach mayor is preparing laguna beach for the worst. We are trying a strike team form at to go out as a strike attempt. Our Marine Safety Department is taking additional training and preparations for swift water rescue. Well be positioning equipment and personnel in ways that will respond quickly to an event. Inside the Emergency Response center, the citys engineer can monitor the rain fall. The soil saturation level and the citys storm drains. What is this place . This is a drainage facility behind the irvine bowl facility. In the steep canyons workers are clearing and monitoring drainage facilities. What did you guys do here to prepare for the next event . Primarily we took out the loose material, vegetation and growth that occurs, to be prepared to take the onslaught of water to pass through and not clog the debris wrap. Reporter if you dont take the debris, the vegetation out, what is the worst Case Scenario . It comes and clogs the top property. Reporter in 2010 that is what happened. The stormwater and debris surged over a barrier, and buried the downtown area in sludge and mud. Since then the city is required to have a flood mitigation supply like this. What happens if you dont have one of these, and you get brine waters 34 feet deep, ages. 12, 2210 is the largest storm. At closing time i had the ladies put in the one panel. The opposing business didnt do anything. They lost flooring, merchandise, fixtures. Wiped out. They were closed 56 weeks to do rehab. The business that installeded them. They swept the debris and opened the doors for business. Bone dry needs. It makes a difference. Reporter staying dry in california this winter will be a change. The climb atologist, according to him, outside pasadena. This el nino is probably larger than the famous godzilla el nino of 1997 98. Lets not forget this el nino has had a devastating impact already all over the planet. This winters el nino has arrived. Palm trees in mexico twisting and contorting in 165 Miles Per Hour winds. That is what happened when hurricane patricia, an el assure. Hurricane patricia is one of the undesirable and punishing aspects of el nino. Theres so much warm water blanketing the eastern pacific. When she came ashore, there were storm surges that hit the coast in excess of 2025 feet. Wind speeds of up to 150 Miles Per Hour the remnants of patricia pounded texas, and the louisiana gulf coast. You cant see anything out there. Window. Reporter Scientists Say make no mistake. This el nino is shaping up to be a monster. What we have is the Historical Data to look back on. And this will certainly rank as one of the great el ninos in modern history. What is your biggest fear about the el nino that everyone is predicting this time around . That everyone will be overwhelmed in a way we have not seen. I imagine it worse than 98 or 2010, but the possibility is there that it could be. Its not knowing. Reporter for those that weathered the last monster el nino in laguna beach, they figure its the calm before the storm. The impact of the monster el nino will be felt in the coastal communities, it will extend inward. Experts say the change in the weather patterns, up the east coast, wherever you live, youll feel it. This el nino intends to make itself known to the very foundations of our communities. On that, here is correspondent jake ward. Reporter this is what 5 inches of power did to a hillside, spilling over a freeway taking 100 cars, and passenger. That is nothing if an el nino will provide. Take the smaller event and have it rain longer. Reporter this geologist is a specialist in the california rivers and water supply. We are not ready. Reporter to keep floodwaters under control, california has 13,000 miles of mess. A disaster poised to flood california. There two levies, those that will fail. Eventually therell be overwhelmed. The question we have is this the year that the levy system somewhere is overwhelmed. The california delta income ass 1,000 miles of waterways. Its home to thousands of people and the state capital. We went there to see why water officials are worried about the el nino. Im jake, we are on the highest ground. Always when you are on top of a levee. What are you doing there . Mike is an engineer with the California Department of water resources. He spots a levy repair going on. Its a fix that costs 5 to 10 million per mile. Its a rehab that apparently rarely happens. Something of this scale, once a decade. Repairs are crucial. For decades report after report are warned of levy breaks in the delta. About. I want to take you down to sherman islands in downstream of the river. The scenario that when you get a winter storm coming through. It will have water racing out of the levy. We drive on top of the lef. Passing farmlands and homes. We are working up to see level. A paragraphs of the island is locatable at see levels. Its not clear what the problem is. This is a peaceful setting. This is one of the lowest points in the system. I would not be surprised if we had waves crashing over the levies, taller than you. Wow. That seems unimaginable. Given a Strong Enough storm it may be a reality with catastrophic results. This is not a local problem. Let me show you what is at stake. You have not just the People Living up against the levee whose homes may be threatened. You have farm land, tens of thousands of acres producing fruits and vegetables that people buy across the states. We have a river. The water supply for northern and Southern California moves through this body of water. If it gets over the levee salt water will get into the Drinking Water and ruin l. A. , San Francisco and beyond. All is held back by piles of lock like this. Celta residents are afraid of the el nino. At the bank, sara cummings, her home is up against a levee. If it breaks, like i said. We couldnt have i wouldnt have notice if it interok. Because the broke. The levee is my way out. Driving around, you cant help but wonder why would people build on a floodplain. We are at the roots of the problem. We are stuck with a century of bad choices. We cole on ice the floodplains and took the shock absorber out. When the floods come, they are fast and hard. As if the state doesnt have enough to worry about, further south theres an irony, the drought that gripped Southern California may make flooding dangerous. Increased groundwater drilling made the land shrink. Its threatening the levies. We travel and meet chase. Subsided. Reporter hurley scrambles down to show us what is happening. You can see that, the aftereffects of subsidence. Reporter the original columns no longer supports the bridge, the land dropping away. 5 feet in four years. All the land that has a potential to be under water. Subsidence created a hole. When water fills the hole, it has to go somewhere. It will go over the top of the levee. It has a local school, an hour and a half away. You have two big waves. All of that is in the wave of el nino storms. Look at what we found. This canal is ready to go over the overpass. There was never supposed to be where its at now. You should look under the bridge and see the air to the other side. He told us with problems to another canal. It is buckling and crumbling. The land here is sinking. Making flooding more dangerous. Mother nature may give california a onetwo punch. A record draught, and a kata strofing el nino. Ordering kata traffic el nino. Its not just mother nature, but decades of neglect. We stopped paying for this a long time ago. Why should we be shocked. We have the nerve to be surprised that the systems are falling down. Bridges are failing, roadways are failing. We chose not to pay for it. Reporter the truth is that california and the nation will pay. One way or another. The question is whether the bill comes due this winter. Inside story takes you beyond the headlines, beyond the quick cuts, beyond the soundbites. Were giving you a deeper dive into the stories that are making our world what it is. The science is there, science showing a monster el nino is making an impact. Researchers track water temperature changes from peru, up here to the Central California coast. But we can also learn a lot about what is happening beneath the waves from those who live there. Hes only a few inches long, but this little guy is an indicator of a giant el nino at work. A huge dye off of the red crab near san diego was a surprise to scientists, but further north they are unheard of. So newer the aquarium needed permission to exhibit the little grab, because the species has never been native to this part of the california coast. And the red crab is not the only new arrival. It moves through the food chain because everything is so intimately interconnected. Jim led education groups for 28 years, telling us that monster abay has san mon terks erray bay has seen visitors moving north. In addition to anchovies we is tuna, and hammer head sharks. Reporter normally they are not in this . Reporter air. In this area. Normally they are in mexico. Its the animals that are the first ones to tell us theres something different. Do. Its happening out here. Reporter up might say francisco was born to study el nino. I native of peru, he remembers the el nino sending floodwaters pureeing into his family home. There was water up to our knees in the house. Reporter its followed you your whole life. And i followed it. Reporter as senior scientists more monterey base, he point out stories goes back hundreds of years, and even the ingased in it. Reporter this is a sign of Climate Change. Its not a sign of Climate Change, its been happening repeatedly, but we dont know how Climate Change will impact el nino. Will it be stronger, weaker. The ocean, he remind me plays host to a range of creatures great and small. From the tiny crabs to the predators that have north. Bluefin tuna, different tuna that is normally not found here, marlin, awahu. The whole eco system is changing theres two faces. Some winners, some loser. He says we should try to understand the waters. El nino is like moving all the lines from one side of the country to the other, except that the big predators here are less predictable. A frenzy. Thats a great white. Oh. My god. Great weeks have been spotted in the bay before. The attack on a sea lion in full view of the forests made waves because a video went wild. Its long been understood that sharks are in the bay. Sean runs a Shark Research foundation and is one of thefrl in the area dedicated to monitoring and researching off the the coast. Great whites are not new. Warmer waters made an impact on the population. What is new is yourself nile sharks. So sh is growing. The center of gravity is moving north. On the water researchers are tracking changes up the coast. Notice tell us we will have a big water explorer. This tracks the d. N. A. Of the waters. Each organism leaving a trail for scientists to map what is happening beneath the waves. Some of them tell us the environmental conditions. Others, like these with cameras tell us what is swimming around. They can see and count them. And ta them. The tantalizing question is what is happening for this el nino, is it a oneseason event. Coastline. You are like the dr do little of the sea. In some ways, yes. About. 20 years ago we think of it as a destructive thing. Thats the two faces, the winners and losers. It depends on which side of the coin you are. Thats america tonights special look at el nino. Tell us what you mining at aljazeera. Com americatonight. Talk to us on twitter and facebook. Come back, well have more of america tonight lead paint. Plaster that is falling. Rodent infestation. If it was your own children, youd have the money to take care of it. Who does the buck stop with . Syrias Opposition Group makes advances in the province of aleppo. We have the latest on fighting there. Welcome to al jazeera. Live from doha. Also to come in the program. 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