ST. LOUIS — Crews from several different agencies tell 5 On Your Side they are staffed up and on standby ahead of the storms.
The Metropolitan Sewer District said if you have time before the rain hits, then do a quick check around your outside storm drain or pick up things from your yard that could wash down to the drain where it should be rather than into your house.
“I hope to never see a rain event like we saw last year,” Sean Stone with MSD Project Clear said.
MSD says in preparation for the worst they have kept up with regular storm drain cleaning.
“We've got almost 350,000 inlets and manholes around here. So even though we're on a constant and rigorous inspection and cleaning schedule, it's a lot to get to. We can't see them all at once. So if you do see something that's a problem, please let us know,” Stone said.
Stone says they’ve got all hands on deck ahead of the incoming storm.
“We've doubled our standby crews. So we have more crews available to respond to issues quickly if there are issues overnight. We've also increased the number of people in our customer service center to handle the call volume if there are problems. Here's hoping we don't have them,” Stone said.
If drains end up clogged that can also affect drivers. The Missouri State Highway Patrol says if you have to drive check your route with MoDOT ahead of time.
“If you're driving down a highway and you see a roadway that the water is covering, you don't know how deep that water is. You don't know what the road looks like underneath that water. It may be washed out and have a big rut in the road to cause you to fall into the rut and then get stuck and stranded,” MSHP Corporal Dallas Thompson said.
If you do get stuck, then try to stay calm and call for help. Only 6 inches of water can cause a car to stall.
“The best thing to do is if possible stay inside your vehicle. And we don't know what the current is like. It could also sweep you away. If the water is rising inside your vehicle and you need to get out maybe crawl out on the roof of your vehicle, but try to stay there as long as you can,” Thompson said.
If you have an issue with a storm drain or it's backing up into your house call MSD at 314-768-6260.