Redwood City Storm
September 19, 2002
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| Flood in an RV Park |
Arriving in the San Francisco Bay area for the birth of our grandchild, Kira, and to spend the holiday season with Brian/Frances & kids, we checked into the Trailer Villa RV Park in Redwood City, CA – the only local RV Park with reasonably easy access to Brian’s home. The receptionist informed us that we were entering the rainy season and that the park has been known to flood. In 1998, a flood triggered a massive exodus of RVs – some in such a hurry that sewage and water hoses trailed on the ground as RVs escaped the rapidly rising water. The park is located only a few feet above high tide and adjacent to the salt ponds of San Francisco Bay. Floods are caused by heavy rains flooding a local creek, coupled with exceptionally high tides. A high tide list is provided to park customers on the bulletin board.
“Do you knock on our doors to warn us of impending danger?” I asked.
“No,” she replied. “We cannot predict what will happen, so the decision to leave or stay is yours.”
“Do you reimburse us for the time that we are away from the park during a flood?” I asked.
“No,” she said.
Remembering her sage advice, we became somewhat nervous when weather reports announced that remnants of a typhoon in SE Asia were heading across the Pacific and directly toward California. As it approached the coast of California, it consisted of about four large, separate storms following in railroad car fashion, one after the other. The TV weatherman announced that “We can expect up to 15 inches of rain in some places from these storms.”
The first storm produced up to 10 inches of rain in areas north of San Francisco – but in the South Bay area, we got only about ½ inch. The second storm produced similar results and we got about 1 inch of rain. But even so, by now the soil in the Southern Bay area was becoming saturated and we expected that the next storm might begin to cause rising waters in the local creeks. These storms were separated by a day or more of relatively dry weather. At this point, most of the problems reported in the Bay area were produced by the high winds that accompanied the storms. Trees falling on homes and autos caused the most problems – except maybe for a hillside in Oakland that, along with three homes, were sliding downhill onto apartments below. High waters were causing lots of traffic problems. One fellow wisely parked his car on the street to protect it from the dangers of falling trees in his driveway. Down the street, a large tree fell on the electric lines causing several electric poles to crash in domino fashion. One of these poles fell on the guy’s little car and flattened it.
Rain amounts were generally much higher in the hills between the coast and the South Bay. Much of the rain was squeezed out of the clouds as they passed over the hills so there was less left to fall on us.
On a Sunday afternoon, we drove along the coast by Pacifica and watched the giant waves crashing. Some were reported to be 25 feet or greater. One fellow who grew up in Pacifica was also out watching the turbulent waters. He claimed that he had never seen such a rough surf or such high waves. The largest waves were breaking almost ½ mile from shore and between there and the shore were lesser – but still very large waves – coming from different angles, crashing and churning. The surface of the water was covered with white foam. I leaned into the strong wind to take some photos. We stopped in a parking lot where some of the pavement had calved off into the surging water below. As I stepped out of the car to take a photo, heavy rain began to fall. Deciding that we had had enough fun, we started back to Redwood City. We drove in a blinding wind and rain until we left the coast, then the rain slowed for the remainder of the trip.
By the time we returned to the RV Park, maybe another inch of rain had fallen. We felt comfortable as we entered our snug and cozy motorhome. Then, sometime about midnight, the winds picked up and the rain intensified. At times, the motorhome rocked as gusts of wind hit. I found it difficult to sleep with the sounds of wind and rain but slept fitfully until about 5:30 A.M. when I got up to inspect the situation. The rain had fallen constantly for several hours and water was beginning to accumulate in the street in front of our motorhome. I watched as it continued to rise. Obviously, the drain was not keeping up. Checking the local weather station, I was informed that high tide should arrive at about 8:30 A. M. and should be about 6 feet above normal. Other neighbors were also out assessing the situation. I waded across the street and chatted with them as they worried about whether or not to leave. It was now 6:30 A. M.. Deciding that the water would soon be too deep to escape, I woke Pat and informed her that we should leave as soon as possible. Wading in the cold water, I unhooked everything and we drove through some water about 1 foot deep and to the local K-Mart parking lot to wait for low tides so we could return to the park. Several other RVers were already there.
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| Pickup Wake |
In a quick ride back to the park in our little car, the traffic was snarled on the road in front of our park. A creek to the east was flooding and the street was impassible. The water in our park had risen about another foot and all roads were blocked off. “Call us after lunch and we will tell you when it is safe to return,” a worker announced. He also explained that the tide table on their bulletin board was designed for San Francisco. To obtain the tides for Redwood City, add two hours and add one foot to the high tides. Consequently, high tide was really at 10:30 A.M. I left the park feeling very good that we had escaped the high waters.
About 3:00 P. M., I phoned the park and was informed that all water had drained out and it was safe to return – so we did.
The combination of rain and wind caused about 2 million residents to lose power in the Bay Area and up to 18 inches fell in places. Winds reached 100 mph on top of Mt. Diablo east of the Bay. Many homes and businesses flooded and cleanup was started.
So, how does one prepare for the storms and flooding associated with storms such as these? We have the advantage over normal homes in that our home has wheels. When waters rise, we simply unplug the water, sewage, electricity, and telephone, crank down the TV antennas and move to higher ground.
Since our motorhome had been sitting in one spot for a month, a few days before the storms I thought it might be wise to check out all systems in case it was necessary to leave suddenly. Surprise! When I turned the ignition key, the battery was dead. How did this happen? Then I remembered, our two-year-old grandson, Preston, likes to push buttons. On a visit to our motorhome, he climbed into the driver’s seat and pretended to drive. “What can he possibly hurt?” I wondered. “So what if the wipers, radio, and air conditioner come on when I turn the key?” So I let this bright, inquisitive, two-year-old punch buttons as he played driving games. Unfortunately, one of the buttons he pushed was the auxiliary battery switch. This caused all 12 volt systems in the motorhome to use energy from the starting battery rather than the house batteries. Almost all of my grandkids have played the same game, but somehow they missed that particular button. Now I know to remember to check that button after the grandkids have “driven” our motorhome. A small auxiliary battery charger quickly fixed the problem. Small price to pay for the enjoyment we get from grandkids!
But today, we watch as clouds and showers pass and bright sunshine follows. Then another shower! The TV weather reports that the final large storm should arrive today. It will have high winds, but maybe less rain. Maybe! If not, we will be prepared to visit our friends at the K-Mart parking lot again.
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