San Rafael residents living near the Bay or its tributaries face a winter of heightened flood risk after the City Council declared a local emergency and freed up $500,000 for storm preparation.

The council adopted the resolution at its Monday, Oct. 5, meeting, drawing the money from the city's $10.8 million General Fund Emergency Reserve, as of June 30. The city confirmed the declaration in a press release. It lets the city bypass competitive bidding on contracts for pumps, generators, sandbags, barriers and emergency drainage work, according to a staff report prepared by climate adaptation and resilience planner Kate Hagemann, deputy director of emergency services Quinn Gardner and assistant city manager Angela Robinson Piñon.

The action follows Gov. Gavin Newsom's statewide emergency proclamation on Sept. 21. NOAA's Climate Prediction Center found a greater than 90 percent chance of a very strong El Niño event this fall and winter, with a 75 percent chance it will exceed every El Niño on record since 1950, the staff report states.

More than 16,000 San Rafael residents live in areas that abut the Bay or waterways influenced by Bay tides. Parts of the city sit on land that has gradually sunk near or below Bay level and lacks cohesive flood defense infrastructure along its privately owned shoreline. Southeast San Rafael is more at risk of flooding than 99.98 percent of census tracts nationwide, according to FEMA's National Risk Index.

Last winter, saltwater flowed over private yards, under buildings and into streets during high tides, the staff report notes.

King tides are expected around Thanksgiving (Nov. 24–26), Christmas (Dec. 22–25) and mid-January (Jan. 20–23). The emergency declaration requires council review at least every 60 days until it is terminated.

The $500,000 covers temporary pumps, generators, hoses, barriers, sandbags, flood-control materials, equipment rental, emergency contractor services, traffic-control equipment, communications gear, staff overtime and emergency sheltering. The city plans to seek state and federal reimbursement for eligible expenses.

The city is offering free sandbags, with a limit of 10 per household, at four locations: Terra Linda Community Center at 670 Del Ganado Road, Menzies Parking Lot at 1428 Mission Ave., Peacock Gap Park at 699 Biscayne Drive and Boro Community Center at 50 Canal St.

At the county level, the Marin County Board of Supervisors considered a separate $3.021 million flood preparedness investment at its Sept. 29 meeting, according to a Marin County news release. Sausalito recently authorized $250,000 from its own emergency reserve for flood improvements, the San Rafael staff report notes.

California Flood Preparedness Week runs Saturday, Oct. 17, through Oct. 24.