High tides flooded parts of San Rafael's Canal neighborhood most days this week. Water reached garage doors and front yards, and residents worry about what happens once winter rain arrives, CBS San Francisco reports.
A restaurant on the water
El Tucan Tacos and Beer sits on the edge of a small harbor and backs up to San Rafael Creek. KQED says that at Thursday's peak tide, around 2 p.m., workers raced to move their cars as water cut the restaurant off from the street. "Right now, we have no entrance for anyone to get in," employee Marilyn Garcia said. The restaurant recently poured a cement barrier, but water still seeps in under the patio.
Christina Williams of El Tucan told CBS the staff has been squeegeeing water out. "We can't run a business like this," she said.
The city's warning
Quinn Gardner, San Rafael's deputy director of emergency management, told CBS the area is built on landfill that is sinking while the bay rises: "a double whammy." "We are not going to be able to keep the water out of San Rafael," Gardner said. The goal is to keep roads passable and emergency response working. Officials are advising residents to be ready to stay home for several days during a flood, or to evacuate. Gardner said about 80% of Canal residents are Latino, and the city is working with community ambassadors to get past language barriers.
Kate Hagemann, the city's climate adaptation planner, told KQED that San Rafael could see high-tide flooding like this "20 or 30 times this winter." A long-term fix could cost about $2 billion. The city published a sea level rise feasibility study last December.
Climate scientist Daniel Swain told KQED the worst flooding is likely to come with the king tides around Thanksgiving and Christmas. For the regional picture, see the coastal flood advisory.