Across Santa Cruz County, community groups are coming together to raise money and launch volunteer efforts to help vulnerable residents during emergencies and rebuild and recover from the damaging floods and surf swells. Here are some ways you can help.
Storms 2023: Road to Recovery
Posted inLatest News
Neighbors along Soquel Creek say they had little warning their homes were about to flood
Several residents of Soquel Wharf Road told Lookout they had no warning from local officials that Soquel Creek would flood in last weekend’s storms, leaving them without time to protect their homes. “It’s kind of like the wild wild west out here right now,” one resident said. Santa Cruz County Supervisor Manu Koenig said the National Weather Service assured the county three times that the creek was not at risk of flooding.
Posted inLatest News
A shot of tequila while you sandbag? In Soquel Village, a community comes together during the storm
As the flooded Soquel Creek threatened local restaurant Tortilla Flats, strangers stopped in to see if they could offer sandbags or help shovel sand into them; next-door business owners who rarely strayed over came to check in. The word “village” in Soquel Village was suddenly taking on new meaning.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
As ‘Pineapple Express’ morphs into ‘bomb cyclone,’ how do we make new sense of our relationship with water?
In California’s disaster mythology, the winter storm doesn’t carry the mystique of the earthquake and the wildfire. At the heart of the wet apocalypse is a great irony, that so many of us are in Santa Cruz exactly because of a deep and abiding love of water.
Posted inFood & Drink
Damaged and without power, Capitola Village restaurants struggle to reopen and brace for next surge of storms
The Esplanade in the Capitola Village remained closed to pedestrians and traffic on Friday after a storm surge on Thursday damaged many businesses. Others could reopen relatively soon, but power has yet to be restored to the area.
Posted inLatest News
Two more rainstorms bring new dangers to California as officials tally widespread damage
A more intense atmospheric river is expected to arrive over California on Monday, bringing damaging winds along with heavy precipitation. Flash flooding and debris flow are possible over recently burned areas. Officials warned about an increasing risk of avalanches as snow piles up in the mountains.
Posted inLatest News
Landslide fears mount with more storms set to hit Santa Cruz County into next week
A couple more storms are heading for Santa Cruz, and they’re expected to bring a substantial amount of rain. That raises further concerns for slides, as the soil is already damp and weakened from earlier rainfall.
Posted inLatest News
‘I have never seen anything this dramatic’: Santa Cruz’s most-tenured ocean observer in awe of storm damage
“This storm is going to show we need to make decisions,” said UC Santa Cruz scientist Gary Griggs, who has observed the coast for more than 50 years. The storm caused parts of West Cliff Drive to completely collapse onto the shore leaving gaping holes – in one spot up to 20 feet long – where people walked just a day before.
Posted inLatest News
Santa Cruz County Storms: Where we stand on Sunday
Another storm moved through Santa Cruz County overnight, bringing heavy rain and high winds. There is more on the way. A second system is expected to move in Sunday night through Tuesday afternoon, bringing heavy rain through Monday. The storm is expected to drop 3-5 inches of rain across the Monterey Bay and up to nine inches at the highest peaks.
Posted inLatest News
Santa Cruz Wharf evacuated, portions of West Cliff Drive closed as storm batters Central California coast
Police and firefighters closed and evacuated the Santa Cruz Wharf on Thursday as high waves that followed behind Wednesday’s atmospheric river threatened public safety. In Santa Cruz, West Cliff Drive between Pelton and Almar was closed as waves washed over the area, sending large rocks onto the roadway.