Efforts to make room for rivers to spread out on floodplains hold promise as a solution to capture and store water and to help struggling fish and ecosystems.
City officials are requesting Gov. Gavin Newsom declare a state of emergency in the Portuguese Bend area while also seeking a federal declaration from the Biden administration.
Authorities, fearing the effect of additional rain on hillsides and creek beds already saturated by a massive storm earlier this month, issued flash flood warnings for a swath of L.A. from Malibu to Griffith Park as well as portions of the San Fernando Valley.