El Niño Looms: North Bay Prepares for Floods

As the rainy season approaches and a strong El Niño pattern is forecast for the upcoming winter, a North Bay nonprofit is actively encouraging residents to prepare for potential flooding and severe storms. The Lemon Aide Project is intensifying outreach through social media and community education, highlighting past severe El Niño winters that caused widespread flooding and landslides across the Bay Area.

Shannon Parkhurst, co-founder of the Lemon Aide Project, stressed the importance of preparedness, advising residents to have emergency go bags ready and two evacuation routes planned. She recalled past neighborhood flooding, underscoring the need for proactive measures before storms arrive.

Concurrently, Marin County Public Works is undertaking significant flood mitigation efforts. Crews are dredging approximately two miles of the Novato Creek channel to improve water flow and reduce flood risks for adjacent neighborhoods. This involves removing an estimated 20,000 cubic yards of material.

Additional measures by county crews include clearing hundreds of storm drains and reinforcing levees. Officials are also vigilant about forecasts for king tides during the holiday season, which could heighten flood concerns in low-lying coastal areas. Similar conditions in January of this year had previously caused temporary closures of Highway 101.