Live updates: Residents moving to higher ground amid flooding fears

In the South Bay, many people spent the earlier part of Friday preparing ahead of afternoon and evening rain.

In the South Bay, many people spent the earlier part of Friday preparing ahead of afternoon and evening rain.

Workers and volunteers at Christmas in the Park in San Jose focused on protecting many of the displays and structures with sandbags.

"We open on the day after Thanksgiving, on November 29. The rainy days are my most favorite days in the park, because there's fewer people here, and all of the lights just kind of glisten, and it's just magical," said Debbie Degutis, managing director, Christmas in the Park, "So that's when I think people should come down here."

Still, precautions are being taken.

"We're prepping for the rain. We're putting sandbags out just to protect some of our displays. But all these displays are designed and built to be in the rain, the wind, the sun, and they're going to be just fine," Degutis said.

Valley Water made sandbags available at stations throughout the county and have been asking residents to stay alert.

"We've been messaging out to the public to make sure that they're prepared as the wet season starts," said Matt Keller, Valley Water spokesperson, "So, we're asking everybody to make sure that they have an emergency plan in place in case there is flooding,"

San Jose resident Dan McCarthy taking no chances and making sure his family doesn't, either.

"My son's got a shed in the back that has a low point by the by the door, so I thought I'd take a little preventive action today," said McCarthy.

Right now, the hope from officials is that the rain will have as minimal of an impact as possible on residents like McCarthy and his son and instead bring benefits.

"We're hopeful that this will just be good for our water supply," Keller said. "Although we're not expecting a lot of water to go into our reservoirs, this does soak the ground so that the next storms that come into Santa Clara County can start getting that runoff into our reservoirs and filling up our reservoirs."

As intense storms continue hitting our region, the East Bay was getting drenched with rain on Friday.

As intense storms continue hitting our region, the East Bay was getting drenched with rain on Friday.

In Berkeley, Sharetea manager Daniel Marroquin said the bad weather has been good for business over the past few days, with customers opting for more hot tea options.

"They stay inside, get the hot drink. They stay warm a bit, and then they leave," Marroquin said.

The bad weather was not making everyone's jobs better though.

Outside the tea shop, we ran into FedEx worker Michaelangelo Rosales.

Rosales said the rain can destroy many of the packages he's delivering.

"It soils the packages inside. So, we have to bring the packages back and then bring a new batch," he said.

On the campus of UC Berkeley, this weekend is one of the biggest football games of the year.

The school's team is set to play archrival Stanford on Saturday for their annual "Big Game."

The game is expected to attract fans from all across the country.

"Well, my parents went to Cal. I got some other siblings. They went to the farm down there, the junior university. The rivalry, it's fun. It's fun. We always dig on each other on that," said Walter Birmbaum.

Birmbaum is an alumnus and said he and his family came up from San Diego early to attend a planned pep rally Friday outside Sproul Hall.

"We're ready. We have our ponchos, so we're ready for the atmospheric river or whatever they call it these days. So, we're good," he said.

That rally was ultimately canceled as the rain continued to pour down.

Despite the setback, several students say they don't expect it to kill the energy on campus or diminish turnout for the big game.

That includes Isaac Davis and his classmates, who were selling game shirts outside of the hall Friday afternoon.

"It's about the camaraderie. Berkeley, I think rain or shine, we're going to show up. It's one of the biggest games of the year. You know, fight the trees, go Bears," Davis said.

The National Weather Service issued a Flash Flood Warning for parts of the East Bay on Friday.

The warning is issued until 6 p.m. and affects the areas in and surrounding Oakland, Alameda, Piedmont, Berkeley, El Cerrito, Richmond, San Pablo and Pinole.

Residents are advised to move to higher ground and avoid driving through flooded areas.

San Francisco CHP says to expect delays as flooding impacts parts of I-280 near John Daly Boulevard on Friday.

Due to the flooding, the freeway's #4 and #5 lanes are blocked, with no estimated time of reopening. Drivers are advised to to use alternative routes.