Evacuated Residents Return Home from YMCA

By Bay City News

About 36 people that had reported to an evacuation center due to flooding in East Palo Alto returned home late Sunday night, according to a Red Cross spokesman.

The shelter, located at the East Palo Alto YMCA at 550 Bell St., offered food, shelter and other assistance, according to spokesman Woody Baker-Cohn.

There were no mandatory evacuations in East Palo Alto Sunday evening, however, residents living near San Francisquito Creek were strongly urged to evacuate, according to Menlo Park Fire Protection District Chief Harold Schapelhouman.

All the residents who used the center had returned home at about 11:45 p.m. Sunday, Baker-Cohn said.

As of midnight, six homes remained affected by the flooding, but none of the residents were at the evacuation center, Baker-Cohn said.

"If anyone still needs help, we'll certainly help them," he said.

The center was closed at midnight.

The creek, which runs through residential and commercial areas along the borders of Palo Alto, Menlo Park and East Palo Alto, jumped its banks near West Bayshore Road Sunday evening and caused extensive flooding on U.S. Highway 101 and Embarcadero Road.

The National Weather Service issued a flood warning for the creek around 7:30 p.m. Emergency officials were also concerned the creek would jump its banks at Chaucer and Pope streets on the border of Menlo Park and Palo Alto, but those fears were not realized.

Water levels receded late Saturday night, according to Palo Alto police.

San Francisquito Creek has a history of flooding and has caused extensive damage in the past.

Clogged drains also caused localized flooding at Greer Road and Hamilton Avenue in Palo Alto, according to police, but that has cleared up.

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