Storm brings flooding from North Bay to Santa Cruz County
GUERNEVILLE, Calif. - As more rain made its way to the Bay Area, heavy flooding impacted roadways and residents from the North Bay to Santa Cruz County.
Streets and highways were washed out and blocked by fallen trees in many parts of the Bay Area, though Sonoma and Santa Cruz counties appeared to have been hit by the most rain.
In Guerneville, some community members were warned around 1 a.m. they may need to evacuate due to flooding of creeks nearby. Members of the local fire departments had to go door to door to warn residents to be prepared to evacuate.
The Red Cross will be set up in the parking lot of the Guerneville Safeway to help any residents in need. Guerneville schools were closed on Monday due to the flooding in the area.
Video shared with KTVU shows nearly two feet of standing water near several residences. Water can also be seen rushing through the residential areas during periods of heavier rainfall.
Al Mathers, a resident in Guerneville, says that the flooding in her area is a result of negligence by the state. She says a creek nearby needs reinforcements to keep it from overflowing and flooding the area during storms.
Al Mathers walks through her flooded neighborhood in Guerneville, Calif.
"I think if they cleaned out the creek a little bit better from this end down… and put a berm up, a good thick berm, high berm, it would stop it from flooding all the time," Mathers said. "Even a short rain like this. This is not a heavy rain, this is nothing. But look at this, this is up to my knee!" Mathers said.
Video from Santa Cruz showed standing water upwards of 6 inches high. The flooding can be seen creeping up the wheel wells of vehicles nearby. Signs reading "Road Flooded" were placed along the road by the City of Santa Cruz.
In another video, a man was seen swimming in a cul-de-sac in the area of Felix and Neary streets in Santa Cruz.
Resident Adrian Brooks said the roads were filled with water and within 15 minutes, the water rose about four inches.
"It was pretty crazy," said Brooks, who lives at the Cypress Point apartments.
Multiple vehicles were submerged in the water and five units in his apartment complex were flooded.
"It’s pretty frustrating, unfortunately. It happens often. And you feel kind of trapped. Because the entire complex gets flooded. And then you’re kinda just stuck there, in the middle of the night," said Brooks.
A downed tree blocked Highway 9 on Keystone Way between Santa Cruz and Felton just after 7 a.m. In a photo shared by California Highway Patrol, broken branches were scattered across the roadway.
The California Highway Patrol's office in San Jose warned that there were "multiple areas of flooding" and urged drivers to be cautious.
A mudslide near Saratoga blocked State Route 9 from Redwood Gulch to Sanborn Road, according to CalTrans.
In San Mateo, a downed tree blocked the roadway near 4th Avenue and El Camino Real beginning around 3 a.m. The 100-year-old, 100-foot oak tree toppled over and crushed two cars on the way down, narrowly missing a Porsche parked in the street.
The wet and windy weather also caused flight delays across the Bay Area Monday morning. SFO saw the most challenges, with more than 40 flights canceled. Oakland International Airport saw five flight cancelations, while San Jose Mineta International Airport didn't have any.
KTVU's Jesse Gary and Tom Vacar contributed to this report.