Paradise Park residents prepare for storm system

UPDATE 04/06/18 5:50PM The residents of Paradise Park in Santa Cruz are used to flooding, but some say after last year they are still on edge.

“Every time it rains and I know it’s raining over here I get a panicky feeling because I hope God doesn’t let that happen again,” says resident Clora Johnston.

Johnston and her family bought their home last year just in time to feel the impacts of the flooding. They lost tons of furniture and had to redo all of their floors, “the water was up to our window sills and so it was a traumatic kind of thing because the mud is so sticky you can’t sweep it up we had to scrape it up and shovel it out,” says Johnston.

Paradise Park sits right along the San Lorenzo River. Flood stage is at 18 feet, park manager Steve Polizzi says last year the river got up to 26 feet causing severe damage to homes in the park.

Polizzi says while most residents are used to the flooding, he still reminds them to stay vigilant and prepare, “watch the weather forecast and prepare early don’t wait until now when it starts raining because by then it’s too late.”

Residents have prepared by putting out sandbags in preparation.

Long-time resident Carol Taylor says she’s lived in Paradise Park since the 1990’s. She says she’s seen flooding before living right on the water, but sandbags are what saved her last year, “I sat and watched the river come all the way up to the bottom of the windows and I said uh oh and these wonderful friends brought us sand bags and we put them right by the door.”

There is also an emergency siren system that will sound off to alert residents if they are in any danger. “It can change within minutes from flood watch to now we are flooding. If we start to flood we’ve got a emergency siren we can sound to let the residents know that something is going on and we try to let them know ahead of time, we also go door to door and knock if we have to,” says Polizzi.

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The residents of Paradise Park in Santa Cruz are used to flooding, but some say after last year they are still on edge.

Paradise Park sits right along the San Lorenzo River. Flood stage is at 18 feet, park manager Steve Polizzi says last year the river got up to 26 feet causing severe damage to homes in the park.

Residents have prepared by putting out sandbags and are hoping for the best.

KION’s Ashley Keehn will have the full story tonight at 5pm & 6pm.