Storm cleanup will be costly

As a series of Pacific storms bear down on the Central Coast, the cost of cleaning up the mess is increasing.

Watsonville resident Mona Passey has seen her fair share of stormy weather, and on Tuesday she was preparing for more.

“When it comes so fast, it just trashes my driveway, so I just picked up some sandbags,” said Passey.

She lives just off of Highway 152, a heavily traveled road that connects drivers to 101 and the South Bay. It remained closed Tuesday from Carlton Road to the Santa Clara County line.

“(It’s) pretty tough for commuters, for sure. I’m fortunate enough not to have to travel over there,” said Passey.

To put this storm in perspective, San Francisco International Airport has received more rain so far in January than the entire year of 2013.

“This is a hectic one,” said John Presleigh, Santa Cruz County’s public works director. “This has been bad, but the crews did try to do a lot of storm patrol prior to this event, and I think they did some really wonderful work out there.”

Along with rising rain totals, the cost storm repair is rising as well. Presleigh estimated damages in Santa Cruz County are running around $2-3 million so far.

“We’re dealing with a lack of funding at the state level, so we need help. We’re dealing with it the best we can,” said Presleigh.

Recent storms may be bad, but Passey was thankful it hasn’t been worse.

“I think we’ve been well prepared, but I do know a lot of people that have suffered,” she said.