Half Moon Bay preps for coming storm

“Our hope is the work we are doing will help prevent similar issues the rest of this week,” City Manager Matthew Chidester said.

The cleanup is due to the atmospheric river on New Year’s Eve weekend that caused unprecedented rainfall levels, including around 5.8 inches beginning early on New Year’s Eve, according to the county. The city is planning for another atmospheric river coming Wednesday, expected to bring around 2 1/2 inches of rain to the Peninsula. The National Weather Service has also issued a flood and wind advisory from Wednesday morning to Thursday night.

Chidester said the city could close Oak Avenue on Wednesday and is working with residents to get vehicles off the street. At the same time, San Mateo Road near Strawflower Village is also a candidate for preemptive closing if conditions require it.

“We will play it by ear and watch it,” Chidester said. “We won’t close it before the storms, but if we start to see flooding happen, we will close it pretty quickly.”

None of the city’s facilities were damaged during the weekend storm, with the only damage to public infrastructure being bike trails and the coastal trail. The city is still evaluating if Carter Park and Oak Avenue Park were damaged after being underwater. Chidester said he has been unaware of a storm of this level since he started working with the city, and he encouraged the public to be safe.

According to a post on its official Facebook page Monday, the city declared a local state of emergency because of the storms. It did so because portions of highways 1, 35, and 92 were closed on the weekend due to landslides, mudslides and fallen trees. The city also said it was because people left flooded homes and roads at Pilarcitos and Oak avenues in Half Moon Bay. San Mateo County, Tuesday, declared a local state of emergency in response to the storms and noted many members of the Moonridge farmworker housing community had to be evacuated and temporarily sheltered at hotels because of the storms.

Tuesday, representatives from nonprofit Ayudando Latinos A Soñar said it hosted an emergency center donation area to raise supplies for families affected by the floods. People can go to https://donorbox.org/flood-relief-23 for more information.

The Ted Adcock Community Center will cancel programs Wednesday through Friday so the city can use the center for emergency usage. Regularly scheduled programming will begin Saturday, Jan. 7. For people on the coast outside of Half Moon Bay, Chidester said the county is setting up a shelter and evacuation point in Pescadero to keep people as close to home as possible.

Half Moon Bay residents can fill up sandbags at the train depot at 110 Higgins Canyon Road. People can call the nonemergency number (650) 726-7177 for more information or help.