Marin Co. residents still recovering after storm, king tides cause devastating flood damage

MARIN COUNTY, Calif. (KGO) — In Marin County, the storms plus days of king tides left people with a lot of cleaning up to do.

Homes, businesses and cars were flooded, and now neighbors are asking for help.

The king tides and storm have passed through Marin County. But for many residents, the devastation is only beginning.

In Sausalito, Jessyjo Darling is still grappling with the damage left behind. Darling is an earth pigment artist, gathering rocks and minerals from around the world to create her work. Her studio, where she paints and creates, is also her home base.

“It came in about four feet inside the studio,” Darling said. “It just destroyed a lot of the furniture, materials, electronics, a lot of really important things to me that allow me to do the work that I do, which is paint and try to create beauty.”

RELATED: Experts examine how climate change will create more king tides in Bay Area

Darling said she’s not alone. Many of her neighbors in Sausalito are also artists, all dealing with similar losses.

“We’re all dealing with it, trying to help each other out, consoling one another,” she said. “It’s a pretty intense thing to witness.”

In Corte Madera, SKY7 captured another sign of the storm’s impact: cars stranded in rising floodwaters after roads quickly closed.

Alexander Rutherford’s car was one of them.

“And then the next morning, the flood came so high that the water was up to the seats,” Rutherford said.

RELATED: ‘It’s been insane’: King Tides, storms bring 4th day of flooding to Marin County

Rutherford, a professional dog walker, said he had just saved enough money to buy the car for his business. After the flooding, he was forced to paddleboard through his neighborhood to survey the damage and figure out what to do next.

“It was super important,” he said. “I was trying to upgrade for my business. I need to have a decent car to walk the dogs for my customers.”

For both Rutherford and Darling, the future remains uncertain. They’re now hoping to raise enough money through GoFundMe to recover from the storm and get back on their feet.

“I’ve seen the area flooded a couple times,” Rutherford said. “But I’ve never seen it this bad before.”

View Jessyjo Darling’s GoFundMe here.
View Alexander Rutherford’s GoFundMe here.