MarinIJ: As El Niño Looms, Marin Officials Stress Individual Preparation

Officials in Marin are urging residents to plan ahead for likely El Niño flooding, heavy winter weather and disruptions to daily routines.

The message of preparedness was the thrust of community forums this week in Kentfield and Mill Valley. About 200 people attended the two events, and more are planned.

“Preparing for winter storms is about people: parents trying to get their children safe in school; older neighbors who may need help during a power outage; and families who have experienced flooding and are worried about something else,” Supervisor Brian Colbert said at the event at College of Marin on Monday.

At the Mill Valley Community Center on Wednesday, Stephanie Moulton Peters said: “I’ve done sandbagging around the home I have and elsewhere – and it’s a job, but it’s worth doing.”

County officials described local risks and preemptive efforts to minimize them by every level of Marin government.

“I want to talk about what we can all do individually,” Nick Brubaker, county chief resilience officer, told an audience. “It’s just three things: Know your risk, get connected and then get ready.”

Since summer, public works and public safety agencies have been coordinating responses, shoring up infrastructure and updating emergency alert systems. Last month, county supervisors appropriated $3 million for the efforts, which include deploying temporary flood barriers.

The latest focus is urging residents to plan and prepare.

“We each have a role to play,” Colbert said. “Keeping drainage clear on our property, signing up for emergency alerts, attending events like these to increase our awareness, increasing our information and checking on neighbors who need help.”

“A lot of these storms also have the ability to have cascading impacts,” said Steven Torrence, the county director of emergency management. “We see winds. We see soil saturation. That can have an impact in many specific things such as landslides, utility failures and outages, but also prolonged road closures.”

Many residents came to the forums with questions and concerns.

“I think it’s really important to understand how to protect family members who may not live in the same household,” said Maureen Parton of Mill Valley.

“I’ve lived on the creek for 26 years,” said Jean Severinghaus, who lives on the Greenbrae Boardwalk at the mouth of Corte Madera Creek. “But this is the first time I’m scared.”

Severinghaus worries that king tides could leave her cut off if nearby roads flooded as they did in January. The king tides are expected to exceed 7 feet above sea level on Oct. 28 and be even higher on Thanksgiving and Christmas and again in January.

Meteorologists advising the county have said the rain this winter could be twice the normal amount and approach the levels that led to historic floods in downtown San Anselmo.

That scenario, in which people might be stuck at home or have to leave for several days, is what officials are urging residents to prepare for.

While Torrence said the El Niño “doesn’t guarantee a wet winter,” he and others described their “all hands on deck” approach. Tidal flooding, in contrast, is all but certain.

Robin Bartlett, deputy director for the Marin County Department of Public Works, said it and local counterparts have been busily preparing, including cleaning 6,000 culverts.

“We’ve gone through and identified the most critical areas and we are at work putting various repairs and temporary measures in place,” Bartlett said. “This includes things such as putting tidal flap gates on the end of storm drains. It also includes putting sandbags in various locations and distributing sandbags.”

“You’ll start seeing other strange things showing up by the side of the road,” Bartlett said. “We’re going to be putting up some temporary barriers in various locations that’ll hold back flood waters. There are also going to be some collapsible devices that will be used in some locations, and those will lift up when they become flooded and provide a barrier against water intrusion. And you’ll see a lot of these fillable tubes going up. These are going to be bright yellow and bright orange.”

Officials emphasized what individuals can do, distributing materials with information and suggestions. Torrence said the ReadyMarin.org/elnino webpage has a tab to enter an address to see how emergency responders have assessed the neighborhood risks.

People traveling on Thanksgiving or Christmas or having guests should know how king tides could affect traffic on Highway 101 and along coastal areas, he said.

Residents also should sign up for AlertMarin to get official notices, warnings and instructions, Torrence said. People could add multiple addresses for alerts, Brubaker said.

“I have my kids’ schools on there,” he said. “So if an emergency occurs in that area, we send geotargeted alerts.”

“This is your opportunity to make a plan and really figure out at your or your household level what things you need to do to make sure that you’re ready when an incident occurs, knowing that there’s going to be a lot of people impacted at the same time,” Brubaker said.

“The more that we can be personally prepared, it actually lessens the burden on all of our first responders who are trying to do their best to respond to incidents,” he said.

Homeowners should consider using batteries or generators if power goes out for several days, Brubaker said. Property owners also might consider obtaining flood insurance, which typically has a 30-day waiting period before taking effect. Another aspect of making personal plans is knowing what neighbors need, especially if they are older, infirm and unable to drive.

“And don’t forget about your pets,” he said. “We say anything with a heartbeat needs a plan.”