Peninsula residents, who faced major flooding during previous winter storms, spent time Wednesday gearing up for what could be another devastating storm.
Rigo Perez was scouting out a new place to park his car. Back in January, the underground parking lot of his East Palo Alto apartment flooded. He said the water level came up to his steering wheel and filled his entire car with mud.
"The car was sitting there for over 20 days," he said. "When they finally got it out, they said it was considered a total loss."
He now has a new car and said he won’t be taking any chances with another storm about to hit.
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
"Just park it somewhere else on a higher level," he said.
Crews in East Palo Alto were also preparing for high winds and heavy rains by clearing debris near San Francisquito Creek.
"We'll be on the lookout for any potential trees that fall, which then do create bottlenecks," East Palo Alto City Councilman Ruben Abrica said.
The city will also be keeping a close eye on the saturated ground off University Avenue because of concerns the embankment could crash into the creek.
In Palo Alto, crews have been inspecting the San Francisquito Creek to make sure there are no large trees blocking it.
There are future plans to replace the Pope-Chaucer bridge where there has been flooding in the past. But for now sandbags are the best defense.
