all hands on deck. a compute disaster. part of highway 101 in san jose shut down in both directions pause of flooding. we have a crew stationed live alongside the highway. this is 101 south. we have been on air since 4:00 a.m. all these new developments have popped up. this a clear illustration of the extent of the flooding. it is is not the only major problem overnight. this is a live look from downtown san jose where new evacuations have been ordered. we are just learning this morning that as many as 2500 people have been displaced. team coverage tracking the dangerous conditions. today in the bay continues right now. good wednesday morning to you. thanks so much for skwroeupbjoi. >> we are going to walk you through every step on this wednesday. new evacuations, new closures.

>> let's put this into context where this is on highway 101. the peninsula. . we will zoom down to the south basement here's the closure. it is both directions of the bay shore freeway. northbound is your commute. between 680/280 and 880, this is the critical elbow. that's where where we typically see that happening the last half hour. we didn't get to use this stretch of highway. 280 north and 87 north seeing a lot of traffic flowing. we were on extra early. so they got a start here. we see the backup on 101 as well as 87 coming towards 880 as well. folks are making their way between the two freeways, the capital expressway. there you go. the m kc-section of 101. this is shy of mckee.

farther north, pete is there on the road. >> reporter: good morning to you, mike. we'll give you a look on the ground 101 south as you approach alum rock. you can see this flooding on 101 south, right up until -- right below the overpass. this area has been closed and traffic being diverted. on the 101 near oakland road exit. as i mentioned all morning long, the city and county officials had a conference call early. the big issue here, they don't know where all of this water is going to go.

chp and caltrans working hand in hand. so many closures we are seeing around the south bay. there is no eta when they will clear it out. back to mike in the studio to talk about the freeway closures. >> there is no scheduled time for that reopen for the bay shore freeway. plan on this for the morning commute slamming northbound 101 from the capital expressway. 85, 87, this area will jam up.

a late commute. a weird commute and a lot slowing coming up towards you cupertino and sunnyvale. you're talking about the mandatory evacuations, mike. thank you very much. the latest one overnight. significantly larger than the previous two. these are new evacuations coming in downtown san jose. >> the advisory issued along coyote creek, north of 280, south of 237. this is a map of the evacuation advise which was issued late last night. sam mentioned parts of the area near downtown under mandatory evacuation orders. we are just learning right now at least 50 police officers currently going door to door attempting to wake up residents and telling them of these mandatory evacuations.

>> reporter: what we are seeing right now, this is good news if you look left, you can see part of the sidewalk when we arrived -- we're on santa clara near 26th. when we arrived an hour and a half ago, the water was lapping the fence there. we know the floodwaters from the coyote creek are receding. the creek peaked last night at 8:30. this gives you a sense this is how long it is taking for the floodwater to recede. we're talk building a section of town north of 280, east generally. generally east of coyote creek and south is and west of 101.

the coyote creek peaked last night at 13.6 feet. that's the highest level in 95 years. and as i mentioned, even though it has peaked, it has taken time for the floodwaters to recede. the area is 6 to 12 inches deep. in other parts we know people have seen the water enter their homes and shops. >> i saw the water went in. then we have neighbors around here that live here in apartments. they are putting sand bags around their door but they are indeed. the steps are up, so the water is not going in there yet. you can see the water is close. >> what's most remarkable it's not like coyote creek is nearby. you can't even see it here. it is several blocks from our location. that's a good half mile or so.

it is spilling so much water that it is affecting people this far away and could continue to do so if we get another big storm in the coming days. you get a sense of how deep this is. it is is not as deep as it was earlier. it is is turning into a big puddle. definitely a good 6 to 12 inches deep. bob redell, today in the bay. >> you see the activity pick up. you have been out since 4:00 a.m. you are seeing a lot more cars trying to drive-through it, right, bob? >> reporter: yeah. san jose police shut down several intersections, including this one here at 26th and santa clara. they reopened within the past hour so people could get to work in anticipation. the floodwaters are taking a long time. we do know it is definitely going down. >> bob, thank you very much. just the fact that we are seeing

this level of flooding on santa clara street in downtown san jose telling you exactly what we're looking for. this is aerial look from nbc bay area star ranger. you see all the lights. those are the northbound lanes. mike inouye telling us about a stretch of 101 closed through the artery of san jose between the 280 connector up to 880. >> it is amazing to see. you should jump off highway 87 perhaps. that's going to be a tough commute as well. the good news here is highway 101 down in the south bay where it was first closed down in morgan hill has reopened. this is a huge heart of the artery, the morning commute. they are trying to direct people off the area, giving them alternate routes. >> this is going to snarl traffic for morning commuters.

we will be taking it every step of the way. mike inouye will outline alternates. we are getting a sense how bad this is. this morning on 101. we saw it yesterday during an emergency flooding situation. that was one of the hardest hit areas. sky ranger, here it is, overhead flooded with waters starting yesterday morning. >> the area we are talk building is rock springs neighborhood. kris sanchez is there looking at what conditions are like for us this morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, sam and laura. we have a number of people who are 25 feet away from the top six floodwaters that are still in this neighborhood. in the distance you can see some of the cars that were nearly completely under water. behind them, some of those apartments that were evacuated. you can see the red xs there

where emergency crews cleared the folks out and then marked the spot for that other responders would not duplicate the effort. now, we know we have 50 police officers working on the new evacuation areas going door to door. but yesterday it was the fire crews. they were evacuating people by boat. by now you may have already seen these images. swift water rescue boats being walked out of the toxic floodwaters contaminated with sewage and chemicals like oil and other household items. about 500 people in this neighborhood are out of their homes. about 2,500 more people could be asked to leave their homes in the area of downtown jose. some of the folks here said they got some notice that the coyote creek was spilling its banks but they had no idea it was going to be an emergency. and that's something the mayor

is echoing. >> no question in my mind there was a failure of some kind. we will have time for monday morning quarterbacking in the days ahead. right now we have to do everything to get the people out. >> reporter: and that work to get people out is still under way. city crews are driving around checking to see where the water is receding. in the last hour and a half a worker said he saw it drop a foot in some places but not fast enough. his day usually starts at 7:00 in the morning. he's been on the job since 4:00. he said he's a public is servant and he's happy to work the hours because he knows how critical it is to get these people to safety. >> if you happen to see the crew there? a person on their back carrying

them out of the floodwaters. it is like they are doing whatever they can. >> has been extraordinary. kris talking about the fact that 2,500 people displaced in the happy hollow area. that was not as large as we are seeing this morning. the amount of people being affected is indescribable. >> the good news is the water is receding and no rain in the forecast today stphrfp. >> no rain in the forecast today. we have had so much recently. the water levels are dropping upstream at coyote creek. this is the main gate we have been watching. it crested at 13.6 feet. it has never been that high. it is now currently continuing to drop below 11 feet and may hold steady as we see the reservoirs streaming down. i want to show you video along brokaw road where you get on 880. you can go north or south to

oakland. a lot of times you is see the road, coyote creek bridge going over that. the water is almost level with the bridge that goes over brokaw road and the interchange to get on 880 there. so this is my normal route. i saw that in person. it is definitely something to. on the other side, they have had to close down a couple of lanes. this is going closer to san jose airport. if you're going in that direction, up brokaw road, you will see water levels really high. that is near the lowe's getting on-ramp at 880 heading towards oakland. that's what we are seeing as the sun rises. coming up, we will talk more about the forecast and what to expect as we head into the weekend. >> coming from the south bay, too.

ouf to rethink all the different as to get to work. >> they opened a section of 101. it was closed for a day. up next, continuing coverage of the commute, highway 101 and the impact that could impact local businesses. a live look at the highway from nbc bay area sky ranger. it gives you good perspective just how bad the flooding is. you're watching today in the bay. we'll be back with of course more continuing coverage.

a live look at sky ranger looking at highway 101. that is a critical stretch. we'll show you how far the backup is and some ways around it. and this storm system is winding down for the bay area. still snowing in the sierra.

alpine meadows, 225 inches of snow. we'll talk about a digital rainfall fort bay area coming up in a few minutes. >> at least we are getting a chance to dry out today i want to bring in scott mcgrew talking about big business in san jose. it is expected to run as normal, which is getting to the office downtown. it may be a lot more challenging. this is going to be adobe is and other big buildings here. getting near 101 will be impossible. julian, past city hall to get downtown to big business, that would not work out very well. the flood evacuation zone,

mckinley elementary, they are part of the franklin mckinley school district. if they're in the mandatory evacuation zone, don't go to school. business up affected. san jose airport. we checked with them. they are all clear. if you need a place to go, there are evacuation centers in san jose at may fair community center. and sheer k a wawa community. overnight shelters open at james lick and evergreen valley high school as well. >> you said the words nearly impossible to get to 101. we are getting images that illustrate exactly whaur u talking abotal what you are talking about right now.

you are getting a better picture of what's going on here. pete wading around ankle deep in that water. this is alum rock on 101 south. as mike had mentioned, once you get to the 280/680 you are not getting onto the 101. an chunk of road is closed up to 880. >> he has to find a workaround. i know i had to. 17, 101, monterey. i've been everywhere. when i looped around and i saw 101 completely shut down and pete's live shot, it's amazing to see. been here for a long time and never seen anything like this. >> we have never seen the water levels on coyote creek this high. one of the reasons why is the reservoirs are well over capacity. that's the issue. >> let's talk about 101.

mike, what would you recommend for drivers? >> let me show you. there are options. we will put this into context. the entire commute, north of dumbarton right on schedule. anything but silicon valley right on schedule. the southern portion of your map. that's where all the activity or in activity is. highway 101ing both directions between 880 passing by pete's crew over here and towards the 680/280 interchange. this is the reason why we don't want to use 101 north up to the closure. it is is jammed from before you get to capital expressway past the crash at actually. be very careful through the area. that is going to continue to jam things up.

87 as folks travel across, it is jamming up. 280 slammed early in the morning. the airport jumping pack on the 101. this is ripping around through the rest of the south bay. 85 shows more traffic. coming off the 101 split. it will push into san jose. cupertino and silicon valley a later commute. a typically slower drive-through the tri-valley. mil niles canyon still closed. this is good, kari. this is a pleasure. 54 minutes. no problems for the east shore freeway. no flooding for closures in that section. >> yeah, mike. i want to show you that camera again. we are seeing a completely empty interstate right there at san

jose. and at the interchange you can start to see the sun is rising. a few clouds. this is our chaps to dry out. our reservoir is over capacity right now. considering anderson is at 104%. so coyote on creek out of that. we are seeing it reaching a new record. it not up to 13.6 feet yesterday evening. the old record was 12.8. that happened in 1922. of course the infrastructure much different back in that time. so hard to tell exactly where we would be inundated with this type of situation. still under that flood warning for all the areas shaded in green. if you are in this green area, there will be a chance we could see flooding for the coyote creek and some of the creeks that run off the coyote creek as the water continues to roll up stream, away from the anderson dam, coyote creek and eastern parts of san jose.

we are also to see flooding ongoing as the water levels drop slowly. this also extends into south san jose, south coyote into this afternoon. and flood warnings ongoing for the northwest creek and the north. a look ahead to the weekend coming up. >> continuing, taking a look at the images we have never seen before. a live look at the damage that people are already dealing with right now. this is the rock springs neighborhood by the happy hollow zoo.

at 6:27 this morning, nbc bay area sky ranger is live over downtown san jose. 27th and santa clara. new information into our newsroom. "the associated press" just reporting that 14,000 people have been evacuated from homes in san jose where those floodwaters just inundated yesterday. it forced the shutdown of 101. >> we have been on on air since 4:00 this morning. as new changes come in. mandatory evacuations closing highway 101. an entire section dedicated to those areas. we will be back with continuing

team coverage in two and a half minutes. [ alarm clock beeping ]

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right now at 6:30, breaking news out of san jose. highway 101 shut down right now. these are live pictures showing you the extent of the flooding. >> just an eerie emptiness on highway 101. flooding not the only issue this morning. this is a live look from downtown san jose my santa clara

where new mandatory evacuations affecting 14,000 people. >> the swollen coyote creek you can see from this map the anderson reservoir. the creek stretches from morgan hill to san jose. the water ending up in the bay. good morning. i'm laura garcia-cannon. >> i'm sam brock. we are happy you've been with us. we have been on air since 4:00. let's start with highway 101. >> the highway 101 closure is a huge one. a huge impact on that commute. >> morgan hill reopened. this closure with sky rangers overhead. highway 101 is closed at 680/280. look at the headlights.

folks are not able to get onto 101 past the interchange. a great shot here. forced off the interchange. let me get you back to the map. this is san jose where we have the closure with a portion of 101 for both directions. that is a critical of the commute. the rest of your commute pretty standard. will ripple all around the area. 101 commute direction jammed up. traffic packed up coming into the area. 280 to 87 is an alternate. just north of the airport. we do not know when this will reopen. we continue to see the build on 10 and 87. capital expressway to get around it. that is the pattern right here. now, i want to show you out there as well.

101. this is a closure just north of the 280-680 interchange. it looks okay right here. pete is out there where there is flooding across the roadway. you're on the highway. what's up? yeah. good morning to you. we never thought we would see an empty 101. you mentioned the closures. it is flooding in this area as you approach alum rock. stretching over the overpass. a big issue here. that's why traffic is being diverted. this is near oakland and 101 where all the flooding took place.

they don't know where all of this flooded water is going to go. i want to show you back out here. a live look 101. there is no eta when this is going to get cleared up. >> you saw the water on the roadways. it is eerie. a little bit of moisture. >> breaking overnight, the largest mandatory evacuation for san jose. our cameras were rolling as the evacuations were under way throughout the night. >> in fact, here's a map of the

extended evacuation order issued late last night. today in the bay bob redell live in the flood zone to explain what's going on right now and what is next for the people forced out of their homes. i know you will give us a great description of where you are. stkprr we are on santa clara and 28. the waters have receded significantly. slow but significant. we are able to now walk on the sidewalk. earlier the water was up to just the bottom part of the upper half. it was also covering the street over there where the commuters are coming through now. as you see, the water is going down. this water being feed by coyote creek. if you're not familiar, this is an area north of 280 and south and west of 101 primarily to the

east of coyote creek. the coyote creek seeing is the floodwaters peak 11 hours ago. it peaked at 13 and a half feet. the highest level in 95 years. is you can see it is take a long time for the water to go away. >> you know, i woke up. flooding was all of the news. it was not far from mine. i never figured it would be flooding our area here. never had anything in this area. >> it is a good half mile away. it is having that kind of

impact. this is not as bad as it was. this means the floodwater is receding. reporting live in downtown san jose, bob redell, today in the bay. >> you're mentioning conditions actually improving. we are getting word overnight there were 50 police officers going door to door, gnawing on people's doors, telling them about the mandatory evacuations. have you seen any officers out there this morning? >> reporter: we had officers shut down the intersection when we arrived at 4:00. they let them go around 5:00 for the morning commute. they were telling people turn around. they were worried about getting stuck in the water. as far as the door-to-door evacuations, in this part of the downtown area, 20th street, off

santa clara and san fernando, we did not see that. we haven't seen any houses that wered in the area where we are at. we know they are out there based on our other crew that was out here overnight. we just saw the water going up to the houses but not in. >> good illustration there. the dangers of driving through some of that water. thank you very much, bob. bob is on the ground at santa clara, 27th. sky ranger now live overlooking that area. going to give you a bird's eye perspective from downtown san jose. look at that. "the associated press" reporting that 14,000 people now have been evacuated as a result of these floodwaters from the coyote creek. >> amaze to go see all that water kicking up. there was a time that we were

praying for rain in california. now we are absolutely praying it just stops for now. good news on that front. >> yeah. good news there. a chance to try out. all the tributaries are still very full. highway 101 and also at the interchange on 680 it is completely empty right now. we have been talking about the closure. as you look above, the is sun is rising. a few cloud spotting the sky. all of those areas surrounding coyote creek and also some of the creeks that went off of there. this includes milpitas and where it intersects with 101. coyote creek snakes around. the areas like we saw yesterday, actually road, in that area as well. and as we head farther south of coyote creek near 101. this will be expiring. this flood warning will be

expiring later on tonight. so one of those areas we will continue to watch as the water levels very slowly prop. drop. the possibility of more flooding in our future. and i'm in rock spring right now. the coyote creek just over 10 feet. i'll examine exactly when we can expect to see that go down even further.

a look at 6:43. it is hard to believe. this is from the nbc bay area sky ranger. live downtown san jose in the middle of the city. flood were waters rising last night. this is the result of new mandatory evacuation order. you see the numbers on the bottom of your screen. "the associated press" reporting 14,000 people aoe kwraeutevacua. >> 101 shut down between 680, 880. we don't know when it could reopen. mike look at are reroutes in the area and just what commuters are

facing. >> standing water here as well. this is highway 101 south of 880. this is the reason both directions, although we are looking at the southbound side, are closed for the foreseeable future. we see it early on with the slowing and the ripple effect. >> a live look at downtown san hoe. finally a chance to dry out from all of this wet weather. we continue cleanup efforts staying well below average of 63 depress. still ongoing. conditions out there at the flood zones. stkprr we >> reporter: well, kari, we are finally catching a break from the rain.

this area is extremely flooded. a lot of debris. and you can actually see water is finally starting to recede. it has been receding all morning long. we have been here since 4:00 a.m. coyote creek remains above flood stage just over 10 feet. we are expecting that to go down by tomorrow night. anderson reservoir at 104%. it is is down from its high, which is good news as well. we are expecting now hopefully this will be a teaching moment. unfortunately we were -- 11 .8

feet. that of course is what caught people off guard. it caused all the flooding. as of now the reservoir is at 104%. the next seven days we are tracking rain. we will keep a close eye of the situation. >> thank you, vianey. stormranger not picking up up on any rain. it is giving us an eye what to expect with the incoming storm. more at 6:50. >> thank you very much, kari. 6:46. sky ranger continues to be live over downtown san jose. it is hard sight to wake up to this morning. 14,000 people have been evacuated. we saw rescue crews come by and

carrying people out on their backs, doing whatever they could to take them out of these muddy waters as well. they had to rinse with soap and water because of the dangers of the water. it could be filled with engine fuels, garbage debris, sewer lines as well. >> absolutely no doubt about it, laura. the decontamination efforts were thorough yesterday and they will continue. this is what we'll are going to have to come home to once they return from the evacuation centers. we put that information on our website. as far as the evacuations you're seeing on the bottom of your screen right there. we take a live look from downtown san jose. 14,000 people at least have been evacuated from san jose. that is the largest so far in the height of all of these floods the last several days. they are going door to door, at

least they did overnight, trying to help people get out. >> we have seen so much emergency personnel respond to this. you mentioned them going door to door. police officers volunteering their team. so many people working extended shifts to get people out of it. this was a surprise to many people. we saw so much floodwaters morgan hill. slowed into 101 yesterday completely shutting it down on the northbound direction. that has since reopened. now you see the trail of coyote creek how it goes from anderson dam. there is so much of it. it's just inundated downtown san jose. >> it has nowhere to go. bob redell has been downtown this morning. he has been reporting from santa clara and 27th street in this historic flood zone. this is a once in a century flood zone the city had drown up here.

it is being activated today. that is the history of this situation. we tweeted out the map. you can find it on our home page and twitter account. >> visit us on social media. we are tweeting out facebooking as much information to you. i mentioned it is on 101. look at this. it is hard to believe it is even highway 101. completely shut down to traffic and the morning commute because of all of that floodwater. >> there is something beautiful about that shot and the calm eerieness of it. no one is moving for a large spot basically from the 280/680 connector up to 880 which is the first area and the worst of the commute for much of the morning. we'll show you where this is in context with the commute.

the commute looks standard except for silicon valley. the stretch at alum creek is where pete was. completely across all lanes of highway 101. as we are traveling south, forced off the freeway at 880. take 87. that is looking good. northbound, your commute direction, that's the jam. we have no idea when it will reopen. 280 to 87 your alternate. 101 with 87 north of the airport. let me show you this area that chopper was over. we will see how that jams on the freeway itself. forced off at 680.

if you're south through morgan hill, you can telecommute. morgan hill, highway 101 reopened again. jammed up conditions. we'll zoom out and show you highway 85. jamming up off the 101 split. trying to get over to 87. now folks will head to 17, which is jam north. you see a lot more traffic. southbound the benefit has cleared. niles canyon closed because of a mudslide and tree across highway 84. >> a lot of issues, vehicle mike. clear skies all around the area as the storm system moves up. very chilly temperatures moving in now. we are seeing light patchy fog across parts of the peninsula as well as the north. look how cold it is here. it is close to freezing. we may see icy spots on bridges

and overpasses. things are clearing and drying out. a few spotty showers well offshore. don't expect this to have a major impact through the day. so a lot of dry air in between these storm systems. we are expecting more wet weather in the forecast. starting on saturday, late in the evening, a little bit farther south. and then widespread rain on sunday. and then the storm systemering off on monday. foggy weekend ahead. the potential of another inch of rain in the bay area. one inch for all of us. as we head into the weekend, we will fine-tune this and make sure we will not see any significant rain in the forecast. any rain on top of what we have already had is going to cause more problems. low 50s for the afternoon. mid-30s for the inland areas. scattered showers for the

weekend. we'll keep eye on this and other updates coming up. sam and laura. >> thank you very much, kari. >> breaking news. sky ranger and downtown san jose. if you are just waking up with us, the ap is reporting at least 14,000 people have been evacuated from downtown san jose. happening now, our entire team is tweeting images and the latest information on the flooding. follow the team on nbc bay area's twitter page and facebook.

6:56 on your wednesday morning. live near downtown san jose giving you an example of all the flooding that has happened. a wide bird's-eye view gives you a look at all the homes affected by the flooding of coyote creek. associated press reporting that 14,000 people have been evacuated. we heard of police officers going door to door. >> absolutely. what san jose did not want is a repeat of what we saw yesterday at happy hollow where 2,500

people were displaced under emergency. many rescued by boat. another issue is highway 101. >> it is completely flooded from 680, 280, 808 interchange there. that is a huge artery for the morning commute, mike. >> that's right, laura. let's put it into context. i'm familiar with the numbers. some go by the landmark. anywhere north of the dumbarton bridge, highway 84 between palo alto side and the fremont side. north of there, standard for your commute. south this is a big problem. closed from 880, closed both directions to where 680 and 280 have the big interchange. the live camera. showing you the completely open roadway. it is closed. this is showing you damp roadways. it is completely flooded in the

southbound. >> good morning to you, mike. standing on the southbound side of the 101 before you approach alum rock. this is why it is shut down. the flooded waters on the freeway. it is about a foot and a half deep as crews trying to figure out what the next steps will be. city and county officials are meeting up to determine the next steps. you are seeing the flooded waters. they don't know where it will go. reservoirs and creeks pretty much filled up. this is 101 south. no eta as far as when they will clear this up or reopen the freeway. pete suratos, today in the bay. >> pete, thank you very much. that was a development we learned at 4:00. these are extenuating right now. >> if there are any new developments, of course we will bring you the very latest. there's so much going on. >> pete talked about the closure. very crowded alternates. the closure between 880 and 280.

we don't know when the lanes will reopen. water on the roadway. northbound 101 jammed solid early on. same thing for 87. 280 to 87. that's your alternate. or vice versa heading southbound to 101. that is veried. it is rippling back. 85 jammed up. folks edded toward 1headed towa. >> what we have seen is unprecedented. 13 and a half feet. it is is coming down now. >> we are seeing more flooding downstream from here. some of the tech companies up the calaveras. it will slowly make its way to the bay. >> we are going to be sticking with you every step of the way today. obviously there will be developments.

we will break in with coverage. >> a local news update in half an hour. thank you so much for joining us this morning. equipos de rescate en san josé stranded residents. trained to kill? officials release stunning new