San Mateo County is stepping up its preparations for the upcoming atmospheric river storm, with officials setting up shelters and hotels for evacuees and asking residents to be prepared.
“We are urging all residents to stay home, avoid driving, ensure your family and elders are safe and to be prepared for the absolute worse,” San Mateo County Supervisor David Canepa said in a press release. “We have activated our emergency operations center to serve as the around-the-clock nerve center that coordinates resources and communication with local, regional and state agencies and response partners.”
San Mateo County Executive Officer Mike Callagy said the county would see up to 3 1/2 inches of rain from Wednesday through Thursday, with expected flooding, debris flow and landslides. The National Weather Service also issued a high wind warning, with gusts of up to 50 mph expected that could cause power outages and downed trees. The county declared a local state of emergency on Jan. 3, with Gov. Gavin Newsom also adopting a state of emergency on Jan. 4.
“The county has been working around the clock for the last several days with the cities and multiple agencies to respond to the storms in a collaborated and coordinated way and to get as much information out to the residents as possible,” Callagy said at a Jan. 4 press conference.
Over the weekend, one of the major flooded evacuation areas was the Belmont trailer home community at 100 Harbor Blvd. Callagy said everyone was evacuated, with no one allowed to return given the incoming storms. Other hard-hit areas include the Moonridge farmworker housing community in Half Moon Bay. Callagy said the county has 160 hotel rooms available for people displaced by flooding, with 115 rooms still available and 125 people currently sheltering. Most people come from the Belmont trailer home community, with the total number expected to rise with this storm. Callagy said the county is reluctant to put people back in the trailer homes given the coming storm. The county is working with local nonprofits and the Red Cross to arrange food provisions for evacuees. If space runs out at hotels for evacuees, the county will put people at the College of San Mateo, which has space for around 70 people. Skyline or Cañada colleges are also available if needed. Cities will be responsible for picking up local people displaced and bringing them to a temporary shelter. Once there, people will be referred to the county when necessary forms are filled out. On Wednesday, the county opened a temporary evacuation point at Pescadero High School, with more shelters available throughout the county.
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Callagy acknowledged there were not enough sandbags in the county to handle demand, with cities going through them quickly. Callagy said the county, on Dec. 31, ordered 24,000 sandbags in response and has been centralizing them on the coast and in the rest of the county, with cities submitting requests for allocations. The county has gone through about 18,000 of the original 24,000, with the county ordering more.
“With the likelihood of ongoing rain for the foreseeable future, we have ordered more,” Callagy said.
The county said residents should check with their local city’s Public Works Department for sandbag availability and locations. People can go to smcgov.org/publicworks/storm-preparedness to find a sandbag location list at the bottom of the page.
Everybody be safe out there. After the previous storm, I didn't see too many water drainage issues around my neighborhood. However, the biggest issue I noticed was with buildings with underground parking. If you have underground parking, you may want to street park for a few days. Get those sump pumps running as soon as possible and if there's a way, perhaps sandbags at the top of the driveway to channel some of the runoff to street drains instead of the majority draining to the garage. Anyone else with tips?
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Everybody be safe out there. After the previous storm, I didn't see too many water drainage issues around my neighborhood. However, the biggest issue I noticed was with buildings with underground parking. If you have underground parking, you may want to street park for a few days. Get those sump pumps running as soon as possible and if there's a way, perhaps sandbags at the top of the driveway to channel some of the runoff to street drains instead of the majority draining to the garage. Anyone else with tips?
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.