Officials in Santa Cruz County are estimating that recent flooding in Capitola caused at least $10 million. All of it was caused when a drainpipe broke and sent a wall of water down village streets and into shops and homes. The city's entire budget isn't much more than $10 million, according to officials so it is clear they will feel the pain citywide.
County wide the damage is listed at $17 million from county-wide flooding, collapsing roads and rock and mud slides.
The Santa Cruz Sentinel notes that Santa Cruz County has already surpassed financial thresholds that are required to get state aid, but federal assistance may be out of reach unless total damages exceed $44 million. The paper said local storm damage can't be combined with the destruction from the March 11 tsunami, because the two were separate incidents. The tsunami caused another $26 million in damage to the Santa Cruz Small Craft Harbor.
The Board of Supervisors is expected to declare a local emergency Tuesday night as the first step toward seeking state and federal aid.
County government officials put the damage in unincorporated areas of the county at about $7 million, including a slide near Scotts Valley last week that cut off access to more than 30 homes.
