The Marana News did a story on how Pima County and local communities are preparing for the monsoons. The Town of Marana was featured prominently.

Aside from Pima County, local towns like Marana are readying and restructuring their “storm preparedness plans” after last year’s downpour.

“We’re a pretty big town, so we try to make sure we spread our staff and resources out evenly,” said Daniel Silva, street supervisor for Marana’s Public Works Department.

The Public Works Department arranges Marana into four districts to better manage equally spreading support during monsoons. These district divisions are one of the main changes in this year’s storm preparedness plan.

During a monsoon on July 10, 2018, a Union Pacific train derailed between Avra Valley and Twin Peaks roads, scattering 27 rail cars across the train tracks and surrounding area. Whereas public works previously organized its support systems in east and west directions, during the derailment and subsequent cleanup, the department realized it would be more efficient to organize from north to south.

“Last year was quite a test,” Silva said. “But we came together as a town and managed to get through it.”

Read the full story at the Marana News