Floods Prevent Nearly 4,000 in San Jose from Returning Home

Thousands of people affected by floods that devastated entire neighborhoods in San Jose remain barred from returning to their homes.

An estimated 14,000 residents were impacted by the original mandatory evacuation Tuesday, which went into effect late enough in the morning that hundreds of people had to be rescued with nothing but the clothes on their back. Since then, the number of people displaced has shrunk to 3,800, according to city officials. Homes affected by the flood also declined from 4,000 to 1,100 as of Thursday morning.

Despite the improving situation, Saturday could bring rain and the Anderson Reservoir is still filled beyond capacity. Spillover caused flooding from Coyote Creek, which submerged parts of Old Oakland Road, the Rock Springs neighborhood, William Street Park and the surrounding Naglee Park neighborhood and the vicinity of Phelan Avenue and Senter Road in South San Jose.

Coyote Creek continues to flow at a diminishing speed and the National Weather Service has downgraded this weekend’s storm to scattered showers.

“It’s improving, but we’re not out of this yet,” Mayor Sam Liccardo told San Jose Inside.

Despite a report of a missing father, Liccardo said that the city believes there were no fatalities caused by the flooding.

“We have been told we were able to evacuate everybody,” he said.

City inspectors are still assessing the flooded areas while efforts are also being made to restore sewer service and remove debris.

A local assistance center at the Shirakawa Community Center, located at 2072 Lucretia Ave., will be open Saturday for affected residents and businesses to obtain information and additional resources.

City officials advise residents returning to their homes to be cautious and inspect for structural and electrical damage. They also urge the public to make sure they’re prepared for potential flooding this weekend.

Click here to see the city’s latest storm updates.

4 Comments

  1. Now the predators are aware of whom received mandatory evacuation orders and they already are aware that the SJ PD does not respond to alarms, business or residential. That ended when the Measure B passed I’m wondering why their response to alarms wasn’t reinstated as part of the deal to encourage votes to reverse Measure B. We’ve reinstated pensions, etc, but the SJPD didn’t resume alarms response. Seems like that would be a show of gratitude!

  2. Where is the outrage that the Mayor blamed the Fire Department for the flooding? Why has this outrageous lie and embarrassing position been ignored and buried? Why does this coward get away with blaming our Fire Department? This guy should be called on the carpet….

    • Because San Jose needs a competent newspaper… Murky Gnus, METRO and SJI basically swing from area of Lickarod’s pants where the legs meet.

      Can anyone point to a single campaign promise Slick Sam Liccardo has accomplished?

      His book was full of “progressive” ideas and this newspaper wrote many editorials and columns supporting him throughout the Mayoral race… what has it gotten taxpayers?

      Sham stated he was fully behind Measure B, then once elected got rid of it. He promised to rebuild SJPD after his policies decimated it… lowest staffing in the nation.

      Sham promised that Uber and Lyft drivers would get business licenses and comply with background checks. Nah, backpedaled on that too.

      Sham assured taxpayers that San Jose would regulate marijuana dispensaries and card clubs. Oops, there’s tons of illegal pot clubs throughout the City along with houses converted into illegal grow houses. The violations at Matrix card club are too extensive to list here.

      We see, again and again, that voting for candidates endorsed by the local media is detrimental to our community.

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