Palo Alto Swamped by Storm

Countless Palo Altans spent hours tensely monitoring San Francisquito Creek Sunday as a deluge turned the creek into a muddy, debris-filled, roaring torrent. Kent Brewster uploaded a video of the swollen creek to Flickr.

The city opened its Emergency Operations Center, a rare occurrence, to monitor the creek, respond to widespread street flooding, and to take steps to prevent a disaster. City crews were dispatched from one spot to another, racing to prevent damage to homes and businesses. Residents were encouraged to place sandbags around threatened buildings.

The police department reports that Highway 101 was closed for a time, until floodwaters receded. The off ramp from southbound 101 to westbound Embarcadero Road was closed through the night due to mud and debris.

No injuries were reported.

While the Creek Cam is available online, plenty of people walked down to the creek to keep a wary eye on the rising water.

The National Weather Service predicts that Monday will be mostly sunny, giving everyone a chance to dry out and, where necessary, clean-up. More rain is heading our way. If you need sandbags, they’re available at the Palo Alto Airport terminal and at Mitchell Park behind the Little League field.

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