ALAMEDA COUNTY, Calif. — Residents in southern Alameda County and across the West Coast should brace for another storm that could deliver more flooding and downed trees through Wednesday morning.
Alameda County is under a flood watch and high wind warning starting at 10 p.m. Monday through 5 a.m. Wednesday. National Weather Service meteorologist Alexis Clouser told the East Bay Echo that the storm is expected to deliver up to 2½ inches of rain at higher elevations and 1 to 1½ inches at lower elevations between Castro Valley and Fremont. Area residents should expect sustained wind speeds around 20 miles an hour, with gusts close to 50 miles an hour at higher elevations and closer to 35 miles an hour at lower elevations, raising the risk of flooded roadways and downed trees and power lines.
“Especially with how wet and how soaked our soils are, there’s honestly not much for the tree root systems to hang onto,” Clouser said. “It’s almost like they’re sitting in oatmeal right now.”
Since the start of the year, the West Coast has received a series of storms in the form of atmospheric rivers, a narrow band of moisture that delivers wet, windy weather. California typically gets most of its precipitation during the wet season in the form of atmospheric rivers, but Clouser said it’s not necessarily common to see this many.
Communities across southern Alameda County have seen anywhere from 1½ to 4 inches of rain over the past week. The most recent weekend storm left city crews scrambling to address severely flooded roadways, including Interstate-880, which had to be shut down near the Thornton Avenue exit on Sunday.
During the upcoming storm, residents should expect creeks and streams to swell as they receive more runoff, leading to clogged drains and flooded roadways since the soil can no longer absorb more water.
Diana Crofts-Pelayo and Vance Taylor, with the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, offered tips to prepare and stay safe at a severe March storms Ethnic Media Services briefing on Monday, including:
- sign up for emergency alerts at CalAlerts.org and evacuate if told to do so;
- put together a bag for emergency situations when you may have to leave quickly or stay in place, with essentials like food, water and important documents for you, your family and pets;
- bring pets indoors to protect them from the hazardous weather;
- learn the evacuation routes out of the area;
- do not try to get around barricades or go through flooded roadways because people can be swept away in as little as 6 inches and cars in as little as 12 inches;
- look out for your family, friends and neighbors;
- prepare for loss of power;
- check out more resources for disaster preparedness at Listos California.
The area should see a brief break in the rain at the end of the week, though there are hints of another atmospheric river on the horizon for early next week, but Clouser said the details on that are still a bit too fuzzy.
Resources
If you see a downed power line, leave the area immediately and call 911 and then Pacific Gas & Electric at 800-743-5000.
Call 511 or visit www.511.org for information about road conditions.
Tri-City area
Report broken water mains to Alameda County Water District at 510-668-6500.
Report sewer emergencies to Union Sanitary District at 510-477-7500.
Report flooding of Alameda Creek to the Alameda County Flood Control and Water Conservation District at 510-670-5480.
Fremont
Report fallen trees and debris on the side of the road to Public Works between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. at 510-979-5700 and the Fremont Police Department non-emergency line at any other time at 510-790-6800 ext. 3.
Report flooding and fallen trees and other debris in the middle of the road to the Fremont Police non-emergency line at 510-790-6800 ext. 3.
Report a traffic signal outage to Transportation Engineering at 510-477-7500.
Sign up for alerts related to weather, traffic and more here.
Newark
For flooding and downed trees, call the city’s Maintenance Division during business hours at 510-578-4806 and the the Newark Police Department’s non-emergency line after hours at 510-578-4237.
Residents and businesses can get up to 10 sandbags for free while supplies last at 37440 Filbert Street during normal business hours. Bring your own shovel and contact the Newark Service Center at 510-578-4806.
Sign up for alerts related to weather, traffic and more here.
Union City
Report downed trees, floods and other storm-related hazards to the Union City Police Department by calling its non-emergency line at 510-471-1365 and selecting option No. 3.
Residents can get up to five sandbags during business hours at the city’s Corporation Yard at 34650 7th Street and the fire station at 33555 Central Avenue.
Sign up for alerts related to weather, traffic and more here.
Hayward
Flooding can be reported to the Hayward Street Division on weekdays between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. at 510-881-7745 and to the Hayward Police Department’s non-emergency line at 510-293-7000 after hours.
Households can get up to six pre-filled sandbags and local businesses can get up to 10 sandbags for free at 16 Barnes Court while supplies last. A self-fill sandbag station is available at the same location.
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