| The Palo Alto History Project |
| The Great Flood of '98 |
| 2006 |
| The Great Flood of '98: El Nino's Fury In the early hours of February 3rd, 1998, heavy El Nino rains prompted an event that Crescent Park and Green Gables residents had worried about for years --- San Francisquito Creek overflowed. Although flooding at the Chaucer Street Bridge was the biggest problem, the creek also jumped its banks at three other points in the city --- near the bridges at Byron, Seneca, and Woodland/University Avenue. A wave of water went rushing downhill at record speeds of 7,100 cubic feet per second into the neighborhood of Crescent Park, past University Ave, Hamilton, Channing, over Embarcadero, running southeasterly and pooling into the lowlands near Greer Park. On its journey it flooded nearly 1,700 homes, turning much of southeasterly Palo Alto into a swirling, muddy nightmare. Because the creek rose the last four feet in just 15 minutes, sleeping residents had little indication that a major flood was on its way. Oregon Avenue resident Jim Bourdon heard an unfamiliar sound in the early hours of Tuesday morning. "It sounded like the hose was on --- I guess it was water coming into the house," he told the Palo Alto Weekly. The Bourdons then heard their neighbor banging on the door and knew that it was time to leave. They had no time to move any of their furniture. Other tales told to the Weekly at the time... Evan Economos: “At 3:30a.m., I woke up to go to the bathroom. As I put my feet over the side of the bed, I suddenly realized that I was ankle deep in cold water. I immediately shook my wife and woke her up. Very quickly we woke the children and told them to get dressed. I got dressed as quick as I could.” 83 year old Miriam Patchen: “At 6 a.m. I heard someone knocking heavily on my door, yelling, `Hurry, hurry.' `I got out of bed, and I was instantly up to my knees in water.'' Patchen's neighbor, Dennis McKinsey used his own boat to help rescue Patchen and other stranded neighbors who found themselves in a virtual lake of flood water. One man was rescued around 1:30 a.m. by boat from his overturned truck that he had plowed into four feet of water on the Oregon Expressway underpass beneath Alma Street. The man managed to swim to safety, and was rescued from the top of the pump station. The lack of any significant warning from the city would cause finger-pointing, accusations, and angry speeches in the weeks and months following the flood. Neighborhoods also took a second hit that added to the original surge of creek water. Since the storm drains flow to creeks, there was no place for water to go. This left water, and in some cases raw sewage, to pool onto streets, turning them into virtual lakes and rivers. Although there were no deaths or serious injuries related to the flood, the losses in terms of property and valued belongings were devastating. Floors buckled, walls became saturated, water flooded basements and first floors, and many homes had major structural and content damage. Estimates to many residences ran between $80,000 and $100,000 and some did not have insurance. Overall the flood caused an estimated $28 million in damages. Few would soon forget the Great Flood of ’98. -Matt Bowling |
| An unfortunate Palo Alto garage |
| The San Franciscquito Creek in better times |
| Flooding was worst near the Oregon Expressway |
| The map below shows key locations in the Great Flood of '98 |
| A Palo Alto living room awash in creek water |
| Playing in the rain on De Soto Drive |
| Palo Alto: Then & Now |
| 1998 |
| 2006 |
| Sierra Court during the flood of '98 and as it looks now. Major renovating was done to this house in the years following the flood. |
| Sources: Palo Alto Times, Palo Alto Weekly, Palo Alto Historical Association, Wikipedia |