Storm slams South Bay with heavy rain, high winds
SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- In the South Bay, the heaviest rainfall is expected to hit the Santa Cruz Mountains, but even San Jose has geared up to prepare for flooding and downed trees.
Street crews were out doing routine work on Friday, but at least 20 of them will be standing by to handle flooding and downed trees as the storm unleashes strong winds and heavy rain in the hours ahead.
RELATED: Track the rain on Live Doppler 7 radar
Rick Scott, who is the Transportation Infrastructure Department Director, said, "Looking at, forecasting what was coming, we've made some changes to the shifts so we have well-rested crews to come on in the middle of the night tonight."
Scott has just gotten off a conference call where managers from cities and the county across the South Bay shared information to prepare for the worst.
San Jose has 32,000 storm inlets that drain to the bay. Crews have been working since summer to clear them of debris. But it's a never-ending job.
"Even if we're very proactive trying to clean them out throughout the year, they still get clogged from time to time, so our first line of defense is to have those crews go out and hand clean those. If that doesn't work, we have equipment to clean those out," said Scott.
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Power outages may cause pumps to stop working, but many have backup power. Underpasses, such as this one on Santa Clara Street near SAP Center, can be notorious for flooding.
Residents in around the Santa Cruz Mountains were stocking up on food. Some are concerned about the high winds expected.
Rick Costella, a Santa Cruz resident, said, "I've got a very large oak tree across the street that's about 50, 60 years old. If it comes down, it's going to hit the power lines. It won't hit my house or my car, but the power lines."
Rachel Deveraux lived through the Love Creek floods of 1982 and had road access cut off for a year.
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"I know what storms can do. I have my eaves all cleaned out and everything battened down."
Check out the latest forecast here.
