As wave after wave of storms took aim at the Central Coast, local farmers markets remained open for business.
Mid-County
Posted inCoast Life
Paradise with a price: John Laird’s long view of dealing with the aftermath of natural disaster
Before he was state Sen. John Laird, he was the County of Santa Cruz’s John Laird, and before that, he was Santa Cruz mayor, city councilmember and staffer John Laird. They were formative years for observing and responding to disasters. And they taught him perspective both on accepting nature’s random, inevitable penance and finding ways to make this uniquely disaster-prone county as ready as possible for the next lashing.
Posted inLatest News
California bracing for one final round of storms as officials assess damage
Another moderate storm moved into California Sunday evening, but meteorologists also say there’s good news on the horizon. The series of storms that has ravaged the state, flooding communities, forcing evacuations, shutting down major highways and leading to at least 19 deaths, should come to an end this week.
Posted inLatest News
36 inches in Ben Lomond as Santa Cruz County looks to match or set rainfall records
Dry weather is in front of us, as the last few drops fall from the skies the next couple of days. In the San Lorenzo Valley, 51 inches has fallen since the Oct. 1 beginning of “rainy season,” 3 feet in the past three weeks. Meanwhile Monday, 3,796 people remained without power, and though 67 roads were closed within the county, major transportation arteries like Highways 1, 17, 152 and 129 were open.
Posted inCapitola & Soquel
Capitola Village’s magic has taken a beating, but you can help rekindle the #capitolalove
It’s hard to visit Capitola Village and not come under its spell — and that makes it even harder for anyone who’s felt the magic to see it in its current storm-ravaged state. And while our Santa Cruz County gem will always be vulnerable, we can all do our part to help the healing process by returning that love now.
![FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell [second from right] views damage to Seacliff State Beach with state and local officials.](https://i0.wp.com/lookout.co/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/urlhttp3A2F2Flookout-local-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com2F152F522F4259b26b416c9ef9b4f4da12953c2F97a2656.jpg?resize=872%2C490&ssl=1)
Posted inLatest News
Where we stand on Sunday: Biden declares major disaster in Santa Cruz County amid more storm evacuations, flooding
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell and members of her staff visited parts of Rio Del Mar and Capitola, and were set to survey areas of San Lorenzo Valley as part of a multiday tour to asses whether to issue a major disaster declaration for Santa Cruz County communities devastated by floods, landslides and power outages after several rounds of intense storms.
Posted inLatest News
Storm damage tops $36 million across Santa Cruz County, but local officials warn estimates could double
Santa Cruz County and its four cities sustained more than $36 million in damages to public infrastructure in storms that also damaged at least 200 homes. Local officials say they expect that figure to grow dramatically in the weeks to come as they continue to assess the devastation wrought by storm surges, floods and landslides. And more rain is on the way.
Posted inLatest News
Atmospheric rivers, bomb cyclones and red tags: A guide to storm lingo
As storms continue to rage through Santa Cruz County, there’s a hurricane of technical terms and official statements whirling across the region. In this quick guide, Lookout defines some essential words and phrases about the recent extreme weather.
Posted inLatest News
Santa Cruz County officials estimate more than $28 million in damages from storms
Costs for unincorporated areas are so far estimated to be more than $21 million in road damages and more than $6.8 million in damages to at least 16 park sites and three coastal access park sites. In addition, officials estimate more than $1.2 million in damages to the San Lorenzo Valley Water District. Lookout has yet to confirm damages from cities. The estimates so far don’t include damages that occurred since Sunday, nor damages in cities or other entities.
Posted inAptos
Seacliff State Beach still closed after suffering ‘catastrophic’ damage to pier, seawall, campground in storms
Ocean swells destroyed a seawall at Seacliff State Beach and wiped out 63 campsites and 26 hookup sites. Recent storms also destroyed half of the pier at Seacliff and left the remaining sections “severely damaged.” Chris Spohrer, district superintendent for the Santa Cruz District of California State Parks, warned that forecasts were calling for another large, western swell to hit the area Friday.