The cleanup continues for families in Santa Rosa who had to deal with an unprecedented amount of water gushing into front yards, garages and in some extreme cases, living rooms.
Almost 100 homes had to be evacuated Sunday during the height of the storm, when once-dry creeks turn into overflowing rivers
The Lornadell creek was bone dry before the storm hit.
Then came the rain – forcing the creek to overflow, ultimately spilling into this nearby apartment complex.
The city red-tagged four apartments, meaning four families will need another place to spend the night — and ultimately a new home.
“Look at this man, it’s crazy! Oh my God, look how high it’s getting,” said Michael, a father of three in a video he recorded after his living room in Santa Rosa turned into a lagoon.
“Oh man, I just hope it doesn’t take away this desk,” he said. “This is an expensive desk right now!”
A couple of houses away, Patty Regalia watched from her window the rising waters flowing from Lornadell Creek and spilling onto her driveway.
“Here comes some water, here comes a lot of water, oh my gosh here comes a recycled can,” she is heard saying in a video.
Then came the Nixle alert on her phone – an evacuation order for 95 families living along Neotomas Avenue.
“We’re going to bring a boat,” she said. “We couldn’t walk out and we couldn’t drive out.”
Within minutes, Regalia, her neighbors and their pets got on an inflatable raft until they reached dry land. Regalia was able to return to her home when the waters subsided.
School was cancelled on Monday for students at nearby Yulupa Elementary because flood waters seeped into the school’s cafeteria.
As for the flooded apartments, on Monday they looked like this: a mud-soaked carpet and a bright red sign posted outside that says “owner may enter at own risk.”
“We gotta fix this,” said Regalia.
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Source: NBC Bay Area
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