Water main break creates massive muddy mess in Belmont

BELMONT, Calif. (KGO) -- It was a rude and wet awakening for several families on the Peninsula after their homes were flooded from an early morning water main break. Their problems are not over yet.

A section of San Juan Boulevard in Belmont is a muddy mess, thousands of gallons of water rushed down from up above. It backed up against two homes below.

"I can't believe it was so violently coming down the hill," said Azita Beigi, evacuated.

"I looked at my wife and said get the kids in the car we're getting out of here and I called 911," said Tom, evacuee.

A six inch pipe that runs down the hillside broke. Police were told by the Mid-Peninsula Water District that the water line dated back to 1968 and it failed due to its age.

"The estimates were getting from the water district is that it flowed for a little over two hours at approximately 1,000 gallons a minute -- so we're looking at approximately 120,000 gallons of water," said Captain Patrick Halleran, Belmont Police.

Four homes were evacuated because it was unclear if they were structurally safe. City engineers spent the morning assessing the area. All the families were allowed back into their homes except one.

"They did advised us not to be in house because there's erosion under the trees and the trees could come down into house, as well as the structure above, they're worried about that coming down or the whole hillside," said Tom.

That family is getting help from the Red Cross, it's unknown exactly how much water damage some of the homes sustained because it's so muddy in some areas -- they're going to have to wait for things to dry out.