SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee plans to add 1,100 temporary beds to shelter the homeless during the El Niño storms expected this winter.
City officials will add extra sleeping mats to existing shelters, drop-in spaces or cafeterias within hours of an approaching storm, the San Francisco Examiner reported Wednesday.
San Francisco isn’t the only Bay Area city preparing for a warming of the Pacific Ocean, which could bring storms that trigger flooding, power outages and landslides.
In San Jose, California, city leaders approved four emergency shelters to shield the homeless, the San Jose Mercury News reported (http://bayareane.ws/1TAU8ak) Wednesday.
The shelters will house up to 100 people a night between Dec. 15 and March 31. Leaders also eased regulations to allow churches to shelter the homeless for up to 35 days.
At least 30 churches have expressed interest in serving as temporary shelters.
San Francisco already has about 1,500 emergency shelter beds, the Examiner reports.
The extra beds will be scattered throughout San Francisco, the mayor’s office announced Wednesday.
People will be able to bring pets and belongings whenever possible.
Trent Rhorer, director of the city’s Human Services Agency, said he expects 1,000 additional beds will be enough based on the last major El Niño storms of 1997 and 1998.