Marin supervisors ratify local emergency after historic flooding; county estimates $3.5 million in preliminary damage

The Marin County Board of Supervisors unanimously ratified a local emergency proclamation on Jan. 20 after a severe storm and king-tide sequence caused widespread coastal and river flooding, officials said.

County Executive Derek Johnson told the board the ratification was necessary to preserve eligibility for state and federal recovery funding and to position the county for reimbursement and mitigation work. "This was not a usual king tide event alone," Johnson said, describing the incident as a multi-hazard flooding event "compounded with wind, tides, and rain" that affected jurisdictions including Sausalito, Marin City, Corte Madera, San Rafael and Santa Venetia.

Director Torrance of the Office of Emergency Management said preliminary damage estimates for unincorporated areas approach $3,500,000, with major cost drivers including levee, road and bridge impacts and damage to parks and recreation facilities. Torrance added an after-action review is scheduled for Jan. 26 and staff anticipate returning to the board with a possible second ratification in roughly 60 days "to make sure we can get all of the damage assessments done," particularly for areas such as the Santa Venetia levees.

Interim Assistant County Executive Jason Weber reported an operational impact to telecommunications during the event. "People weren't able to call or receive calls, which included accessing 911 services," Weber said, attributing the outage to flooding in an AT&T central office in San Rafael that affected cell sites and copper lines. Weber said the county has engaged AT&T and will press for redundancy investments.

Board members praised county staff and partners for the emergency response and asked questions about adding newly discovered damages to the proclamation. Torrance said the county has the ability to revise estimates and continue field assessments over the coming weeks. Supervisors also committed to coordinating communications with partner agencies and transportation authorities to improve notices and roadway messaging ahead of the next forecasted king tide on Jan. 28.

The board voted to ratify the proclamation, including an extension of up to 60 days as recommended by staff. The board's vote was unanimous.

The county said the initial recoverable costs presented at the meeting did not include damage to state- or federal-owned infrastructure (for example, Caltrans facilities), which will be handled through state channels. Staff urged residents with storm impacts to ensure those damages are documented during the county's ongoing assessments.

Next steps: the county will conduct the after-action review Jan. 26, refine preliminary damage estimates with city and county partners, and continue outreach and communications efforts via Alert Marin and local channels. The board indicated staff will return with updates and potential additional ratification requests as assessments are completed.