Full Notification

NOVATO JOINT EMERGENCY OPERATION CENTER
“December Storm 2014” Update

Novato, CA –The Novato Fire District and the City of Novato have been working closely for the past several days to plan for the “Decade Storm” that is scheduled to hit Novato late tonight. The intensity of the storm is a concern for not only residents, but for the safety of anyone driving or just out and about.

The Novato Emergency Operations Center (EOC) will be activated at 12:00 a.m. Thursday, December 11th, 2014 and continue throughout the duration of the storm. The EOC will support the needs of emergency field response and help prioritize emergency calls by dividing Novato into a North and South response zones at the intersection of highways 37 and 101.

Weather forecasts heavy rain Wednesday night and will continue throughout Thursday night. High tides in Novato will also prevent proper drainage during the storm. We expect areas in Novato to experience flooding. Very gusty winds are also expected.

*** HIGH WIND AND FLASH FLOOD WATCHES ISSUED FOR MARIN COUNTY FOR THURSDAY ***

Winds: Winds of 25-35 mph with gusts well over 40 mph for urban locations. Winds of 30-40 mph with gusts well over 80 mph for higher elevation locations.

*Impacts: Downed trees and falling power lines creating widespread power outages. Difficult driving conditions are expected. Power outages affect traffic lights and flow of traffic.

The City Public Works Department maintenance crews are cleaning drainage areas and have loaded trucks with equipment, materials, and barricades and are ready to be deployed. In the past 36 hours, they have provided residents and businesses with 4000 sandbags—an unprecedented amount in such a short period of time.

• Get sandbags and sand. The City of Novato provides free self-serve sandbags and sand stockpile at its Corp Yard Facility at 550 Davidson Avenue, east of Highway 101 near De Long Avenue. Residents should bring their own shovels and gloves. More information on sandbags can be found at www.novato.org

• A 2nd sandbag location has been added and is now available at the Hamilton Theatre, 507 South Palm Drive.

If possible, please remain at home. We encourage everyone to stay off of the roads for the duration of the storm. Please avoid any areas that have emergency personnel response.

During the storm, make sure you:
• Remain at home and avoid driving if possible.
• Consider all downed lines to be energized.
• Have batteries ready to go for flashlights, radios and other devices.
• Avoid standing water. Do not drive or walk in flooded areas.
• Keep away from emergency vehicles and take alternate roads.

City staff will be working, and is on call 24-hours, during these types of events to address flooding of public roads and facilities.

To report flooding or downed trees within Novato, please contact the City; O Between 7:00 am and 4:30 pm
§ Public Works Department at (415)899-8280
O After hours between 4:30 pm and 7:00 am
§ Novato Police Department at (415)897-4361

If you have a life threatening or imminent danger to your property, please call 9 1 1. All emergency calls are routed through emergency dispatch.

Novato authorities will activate the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to coordinate and distribute emergency information as needed. To stay updated, please sign up for Nixle emergency alert notifications as well as e-notifications at www.novato.org and www.novatofire.org.