Marin County is committing millions of dollars to protect communities from flooding and severe weather as officials prepare for a potentially powerful El Niño winter across the San Francisco Bay Area.
The county’s winter preparedness package includes about $2.27 million for temporary flood barriers, sandbags, tide gates, check valves and drainage protection. A further $390,000 will fund flood and erosion work in county parks, while additional money will support emergency operations and public information.
Marin County prepares for El Niño flooding
Officials say the measures are being introduced after a damaging winter in which flooding, high tides and storm conditions affected homes, roads and other infrastructure across Marin County.
County records show that preliminary damage from the earlier storms exceeded $5 million, including damage to levees and flood-control systems, roads, bridges, parks and emergency response operations.
Preparatory work is already under way. County crews have inspected about 6,000 culverts, cleared 350 culverts, drains and catch basins, and assembled roughly 73,000 sandbags for use during severe weather.
Current forecasts indicate a strong El Niño could bring a wetter and more active winter in 2026-27. Officials warn that the greatest danger could come when heavy rain coincides with high tides, storm surge and strong winds.
“We just really want to put the message out that residents should really prepare for El Niño, prepare before the storm comes, and be connected to official information,” said Marin County spokesperson Anastasia Pallas.
She urged residents to use the county’s Ready Marin resources and register for Alert Marin, the emergency notification system used to issue warnings and instructions by phone, text message and email.
The county recently introduced optional alerts covering coastal flooding and king tides, river and creek flooding, significant weather and major traffic disruption. Officials say fewer than half of Marin households currently have someone registered with the system.
San Rafael faces risk from king tides
In nearby San Rafael, emergency officials are focused on the added threat posed by exceptionally high tides in low-lying areas before any major storm arrives.
“Realistically, we’re already looking at over 8-foot tides for king tides plus winds, storm surge, and rain potential, and we just won’t know until we’re closer,” said Quinn Gardner, the city’s deputy director of emergency services.
She said two significant tidal periods were expected around Thanksgiving Eve and Christmas Eve, but the impact would depend on how quickly storms moved through the region.
“Will they come through quickly? Will we have a stalled atmospheric river? Will we get an inch of rain for a couple weeks or will we see 10 inches of rain in a couple days?” Gardner said. “Those all have very different impacts and the timing associated with that.”
Residents in the area have already reported unusually high summer water levels. Julie Jay, who has lived in Greenbrae for many years, said tides had been roughly 11 to 12 inches higher than forecast.
Jay welcomed the work being carried out by county supervisor Dennis Rodoni and public works director Christopher Blunk, but questioned whether it would be enough.
“Let’s be positive and say it’s a good start, obviously too little too late,” she said. “But you know, this should have happened 40 years ago.”
County officials say preparations are intended to give communities more time to respond before conditions deteriorate, while residents are being urged to clear drains, review emergency plans and keep up to date with official warnings throughout the winter.
