The mayor of San Jose is acknowledging that a “clear failure” led to uncontrolled flooding in his city last week, but he’s not ready to shoulder that blame himself. Mayor Sam Liccardo said Wednesday that the city relied on data from the Santa Clara Valley Water District about how much water the Coyote Creek could handle. That information turned out to be wrong and now residents and officials are demanding answers.
At least 14,000 San Jose residents were evacuated after the worst flooding in 100 years following a sudden overflow of the Coyote Creek. The situation was bad enough for those who had prepared for the deluge but, for many, there was no warning at all. Many were shocked as uncontrollable waters rushed in, destroying their homes and everything they had ever worked for.
Residents described the scene as a virtual “aquarium.” People had to be rescued by boat and animals were left stranded in knee-deep water amid the torrent.
The Water District said it relies on the best information it has at the time and that it cannot predict unforeseen conditions like a sudden blockage. Meteorologists said the events underscore the importance of infrastructure improvements to increase flood control.
“You can see they’ve paid off elsewhere,” said Jan Null with the Golden Gate Weather Service. “We have pursued money for these purposes of flood protection in the past, but the government ultimately decided the benefit-to-cost ratio wasn’t great enough.”
Officials are still surveing the damage for cost estimates.