El Niño could test California and CSULB engineers are already on it

Forecasts of a rainier-than-usual winter - thanks to the climactic phenomenon known as El Niño - may remind some Southern Californians of landslides, flooding and other problems that can arise along with water levels.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is forecasting above average rainfall for Southern California and other U.S. regions this winter. As Californians wait to see if the coming months prove the accuracy of these predictions, Hung Family College of Engineering experts have already devoted themselves to studying how weather and climate change can affect infrastructure.

By publishing research, contributing to government studies and teaching the next generation of engineers and resource managers, Beach faculty and their knowledge contribute to a more resilient California.

Amr Morsy, for example, is an assistant professor of civil engineering and construction engineering management who is interested in preserving infrastructure. He specializes in projects built upon compacted earth, such as levees, dams, freeways and rail lines.

"Civil engineering is not always about building new," Morsy said. "Now, in 2026, it's about extending the life of our existing infrastructure."

He is now modeling how fluctuations in soil moisture can affect transportation infrastructure. Although El Niño may focus Californians' attention on near-term rainfall, the subtle effects of climate change over time can lead to unexpected failures.

Anticipating risk

Morsy's recent publications include reports for the Mineta Transportation Institute, featuring contributions from Beach graduate students, on climate-related risks to highway embankments and the deterioration of retaining walls employed in transportation projects.

Californians won't have to stay up at night worrying about El Niño, and California has solid asset management plans for infrastructure, Morsy said. Plans can omit some elements, however, so improving officials' abilities to predict and monitor risk would help them to "allocate the right resources at the right time to the right infrastructure."

Laurie Huning, associate professor of civil engineering and construction engineering, specializes in hydrology and how California stores and transports water. Beyond her work at CSULB, she is a member of a NASA working group on droughts and is a contributing author for the Sierra Nevada Regional Report, part of California's Fifth Climate Change Assessment.

The Sierra Nevada report forecasts hotter weather, punctuated by droughts and heavier storms for the Sierra Nevada's future. California cities rely on snow falling over the rugged mountains for water, and Huning is incorporating El Niño forecasts into her classroom discussions.

Predictions for an intense El Niño cycle can help students imagine water resource managers' concerns and decision-making processes during times of heavy rainfall.

"I believe that it's really important to incorporate these current events into the classroom," Huning said. "These are certainly topics that are critical for water resources engineers to be aware of, and I think it's important that we teach our engineering students about the climate and extreme events, so that they will be climate ready engineers for our future workforce."

In the short term, public works officials can address immediate risks by cleaning flood control channels and sandbagging vulnerable areas, said Marwan Youssef, professor of practice and Beavers Endowed Chair for the Department of Civil Engineering & Construction Engineering Management.

Formerly the public works director and city manager for Westminster, Youssef is confident that local flood control systems are well-engineered and maintained. The prospect of heavier storms in the future means California may need to update building codes to account for higher wind speeds.

This fall, Youssef is teaching a fall course on reinforced concrete design, essential knowledge for future engineers working on the likes of flood control channels. He also draws upon his past experiences to help future engineers get ahead in their careers.

"I'm telling them, when you go out to real life, there is a lot of responsibility on your shoulders," Youssef said. "If we know of a weather change, if we know El Niño is coming, we need to take that seriously and make sure we are doing everything we can to prepare - and then go out and inspect."