For families in this community, every rainy season or high tide means worry about their homes, their belongings, and their safety.
By Orlando Peña Aurquia • Published February 3, 2026 • Updated at 5:35 p.m. on February 3, 2026
Multiple factors are causing coastal flooding in the Bay Area, and rising sea levels are making the situation worse.
Communities like El Canal in San Rafael, Marin County, are becoming increasingly vulnerable to this type of flooding.
“We’re no longer at the stage of ‘the rainy season is coming, it’s fine.’ We’re already in it, and with high tides — these are no longer normal tides, they’re high tides,” said Raquel Sánchez, a resident of the El Canal community. “When I moved to El Canal, I realized that we are right at sea level.”
For families in this community, every rainy season or every high tide brings concern for their homes, their belongings, and their safety.
“We live every day with the risk of flooding, and that risk increases every year as sea levels rise,” said Carly Finkle, policy manager at Canal Alliance.
