News: Flooding , Evacuations in Marin county

Friday, January 25, 2008

News: Flooding , Evacuations in Marin county

(01-25) 20:33 PST -- A flash flood warning has been issued for parts of Marin County, particularly in San Anselmo, Fairfax and Ross, as unrelenting rainfall drenches the region, the National Weather Service said tonight.

Creeks in those cities have reached flood level. Water is starting to spill over onto roadways, above all in downtown San Anselmo, where business owners have boarded up their businesses and up to 400 residents have evacuated from their homes, according to the San Anselmo Police Department.

Police went door-to-door at around 6:30 p.m. asking people in flood areas to move to higher ground.

"We sounded an alarm in both San Anselmo and Fairfax telling people to move to higher ground," said Todd Standfield, engineer with the Ross Valley Fire Department.

Standfield said the fire department has in place an automated telephone system set to call residents threatened by flooding with information on flood levels, where to find shelter, and how to get to higher ground.

Standfield said it's been a particularly active day for city officials because of the flooding - busier than it was during an earlier powerful storm this month.

"This one is much worse given the perpetual consistency of the torrential rainfall," he said.

He said the fire department has responded to a number of incidents of flooding, trees down, roadway accidents and mudslides.

"And obviously, the rain hasn't subsided," said Stanfield.

Periods of heavy rainfall are expected to continue until at least 6 a.m. Saturday.

Source: SFGate.com

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Friday, January 25, 2008