San Rafael, CA – Storm preparations are accelerating in Marin County, which is expected to feel the brunt of a major front over the weekend and could last most of the following week.
On Friday afternoon, the National Weather Service confirmed earlier predictions and said upwards of a foot of rain will fall in the hills of West Marin, including Mount Tamalpais. Flood warnings and high wind warnings are in effect for those areas. Flooding should be expected along most creeks and low-lying areas of the county. A key focus will be on the densely populated neighborhoods along Corte Madera Creek and its tributaries in the Ross Valley because of a long tradition of floods.
Residents should eliminate unnecessary travel, prepare for delays if they must drive and avoid flooded roadways. Highways 101 and 37 have multiple low-lying sections that are prone to flooding. High tides are expected at about 7 a.m. Sunday morning and could combine with rain runoff to render coastal roads impassable.
The County plans to activate staffing to its Emergency Operations Center (EOC), located at the Marin County Sheriff’s Office, starting Saturday afternoon. The EOC coordinates resource requests from nearby municipalities and other agencies and supports field operations throughout the county. During an EOC activation, County employees with emergency training take turns working shifts for as long an emergency continues.
All weekend, Marin County emergency crews plan to work throughout the county in addition to special operations counterparts such as Marin County Fire Department’s swiftwater rescue team and the Public Works roads team.
Residents are advised to prepare for power outages and localized surface street flooding. Most towns and cities in Marin offer sand and bags for sandbagging but require do-it-yourself assembly; search for sandbag information on the town and city websites for details. Many hardware stores offer ready-made sandbags for sale.
Residents and media are urged to watch for news on the County’s social media accounts, especially the Twitter feeds on @dpwmarin, @marinsheriff, @marinfire, and @marincounty. Fine-tune social media searches by using hashtags such as #MarinStorm, #CAstorm and #CAflood. The Sheriff’s Office current emergencies webpage and various County Facebook pages will be updated periodically. Nextdoor.com will be used to contact residents whenever messaging is required to specific neighborhoods. Email, text and telephone notifications will be sent via the County’s Alert Marin system. Register cell phones on www.alertmarin.org.