MALIBU—The County of Los Angeles Department of Beaches and Harbors is providing free sandbags to protect homes against El Niño storm season. The filled sandbags will be limited to 10 per person and will be available starting on the first week of November until March 6, 2016.

Malibu’s Zuma Beach will have sandbags available at the entrance to the parking lot of 29600 Pacific Coast Highway near the kiosk. Eight other locations will have filled sandbags available, including Will Rogers Beach, Dockweiler Beach, Manhattan Beach, Torrance Beach and Venice Beach with three separate locations on the Rose Avenue Lot, Venice Avenue Lot, and the Washington Street Lot.

For more information about locations offering filled sandbags and helpful tips on how to protect property from El Niño storm damage, homeowners can visit www.lacounty.gov/elnino and LA County Sandbag Information.

El Niño’s rising sea temperatures has already caused highly venomous yellow bellied sea snakes to enter Silver Strand beach area in Oxnard on early Friday. The last time yellow-bellied snakes were spotted in California was during an El Niño weather storm in the early 1980s.

According to the LA County website, El Niño storms are estimated to be the strongest they have ever been in recent years. They have also provided images for residents to understand the proper way to stack their sandbags. For additional information, residents can contact the Operational Services Division at (310) 305-9551.