Flash Flood — Santa Cruz, California

2009-10-13 · near Corralitos, Santa Cruz, California

Event narrative

A debris flow initiated in a seasonal stream bed rushing hundreds of feet downhill into a driveway and home on Upper Highland Road near Eureka Canyon Road. A car and one side of a home were buried in about nine feet of rock, dirt, wood chunks and water. The home was severely damaged and deemed unsafe and uninhabitable. Over thirty Santa Cruz county roads were closed and damaged in flash flooding and debris flows in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Two people were rescued from a vehicle when they got stuck in water along Eureka Canyon Road.

Wider weather episode

A strong low pressure system made its way through Northern and Central California accompanied by deep tropical moisture and very strong winds. Heavy rain combined with the wind to cause numerous trees, tree limbs and pole/telephone powers to fall. Pacific Gas and Electric reported over 277,000 customers had lost power in the San Francisco and Monterey Bay Areas with a cost of over thirteen million dollars in damages. The record breaking heavy rain also led to flooding and debris flows.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (37.0525, -121.8149)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 227086. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.