i'm raj mathai. next on nbc bay area news tonight, shockingly, it's a tie. the race to replace congresswoman anna eshoo. two of the top three candidates with the exact same amount of votes. so what happens next? also -- the search continues

for survivors after the deadly earthquake in taiwan. a taiwanese diplomat based in the bay area is with us tonight with the latest details. plus, what could happen here after a 7.4 quake? we're getting some insight. and waymo will start making driverless food deliveries. we'll show you how it works. good evening. this is nbc bay area news tonight. i'm raj mathai. the incoming rain and the latest from taiwan, the earthquake there in just a few minutes. but we want to start with the closest political race in the country. we have a tie. this is to replace retiring congresswoman anna eshoo. both santa clara and san mateo counties are finished with their ballot counting. santa clara county supervisor joe simitian and stay assembly member evan low have the exact same vote totals. it's incredible. if the result is certified, that means both men will advance,

making the november runoff election a three-man race instead of the usual two-person race. results will be certified by the way tomorrow. after that, either candidate or their supporters has five days to request a recount, which they'd have to pay for. our political analyst larry gerston will join us with some insight what's going to happen here in a few minutes. we also have developing news in san francisco. who is going to be the next mayor? another high profile politician has just announced that he's running to unseat mayor breed. and tonight, breed's campaign reelection campaign is snapping back with the fiery response. san francisco supervisor aaron peskin confirming to us that he'll make the formal announcement that he is running for mayor. he'll make that announcement in a couple of days. peskin has hinted at a possible run for months now including last week with an interview with our reporter bigad shaban. >> you given any thought?

>> it's on my mind. >> you feel like you're getting any closer? >> i'm leaning in that direction. >> when do you think you officially might have a decision? >> it has to be before june 11th. that is the last day to decide. >> that is last week. tonight we know he will be running. he'll make the formal announcement this weekend. peskin enters an already crowded field. daniel lurie, asha and former san francisco mayor mark farrell. mayor breed wants to keep that job, and tonight her reelection campaign manager releasing this statement. there is no holding back here, saying in part "aaron peskin is synonymous with intimidation, obstruction and dysfunction, literally, the triple crown of moving san francisco backwards. if you go into a laboratory and construct an individual designed to single-handedly destroy all progress in san francisco, he would be it. he's the terminator.

aaron peskin occupying the mayor's office would mean hasta la vista baby for our local economy, our housing and our is the i's future." here comes the next storm. our live cams in san jose. gray and cloudy skies. they're going turn into rain. our chief meteorologist jeff ranieri is tracking it all for us. and jeff will join us in just a few minutes. let's move on now. people in big sur are now being told to stay put until the rain moves out. last weekend part of highway 1 lapsed down in monterey county, forcing the road to close. earlier today, an evacuation warning was issued for the communities south of this closure. county officials were telling people to get out before the road becomes impassible during the storm. the final convoy, this is down near big sur, leading people out of that area left about three hours ago. this is a look at the closure. it's from palo colorado road down to the bixby creek bridge.

the full closure will remain in place until the storm passes and crews inspect that highway. let's get back to that congressional race now, ending with a tie. this is to replace congresswoman anna eshoo. traditionally, the top two finishers in the primary would head for a runoff in november. we've known for a month now that former san jose mayor sam liccardo finished first. this is back at super tuesday in march. but race for second place has been too close to call. so after all that counting, evan low and joe simitian have exactly the same number of votes. it is incredible. let's bring in our political analyst larry gerston. you've been doing this for a little while. >> a little while. >> i've been doing this for a little while. have we ever seen anything like this? i mean, this is a high profile big money congressional race, a tie. >> it's a political analyst's joy, let me tell you. >> you're friends with the math professors in san jose state i'm sure. we have to find out the statistical probability of this.

>> very, very small. >> what happens now? we know sam liccardo is going. we're saying instead of everybody low or joe simitian advancing, they'll both advance making this a three-way race in november. >> according to state law it's going to be this way. there is no doubt about it. instead of a majority to win, it will be a plurality. whoever gets more than the other two wins. so if you got four, i got three and somebody else got three, you would win. >> so does this favor sam liccardo? does this favor evan low? does it favor joe simitian? a lot of other people got votes in the race. i think there was 11 people initially. >> if i'm sam liccardo, i'm feeling pretty good. >> why? >> because the other two are going to split the vote. and i have my core already. he's got an 8,000-photo lead. bear in mind, there are 84,000 people who voted for others. in addition, there are maybe 100,000 more who didn't vote all together there is a big universe as we call it out there. but still, to be ahead, that's

what you want. and if it's a two-person race, it gets much harder for him to feel comfortable. >> you said there is 85,000 people between santa clara and san mateo counties who voted for other candidates. >> correct. >> not these three here. who gets the 85,000? >> who gets the 85,000. another 100 sore who did not vote in this election but will vote in the general there is a big pot out there. there is a big pot. so it's open in that sense. but on the other hand, if you're first and you've got two guys below you splitting a lot of the rest. >> sure. >> it's a good place to be. >> does the governor step in this at all? this seems like a pretty high level or anyone in washington, d.c.? this is for the u.s. house of representatives. >> the federal government can't step in at all. what the governor can do, i'm not sure. in this case, it's clearly up to the district to figure it out in terms of how the vote is going to go. one thing people haven't thought about, you mentioned earlier that you can order -- you can actually pay for a recount. it's about 30,000.

>> so if i'm 11 low or joe simitian, i want a recount. forget this tie. >> it's $30,000 a day, up to about ten days to do it. it's about $300,000 nut. that's going to come from somewhere, maybe a campaign. if you were a third person out for a few votes, you might do it. if you're tied, maybe not. here is the deal. they may want to split it. they is reach a lot to gain. >> split the cost. >> it might be a good investment. >> okay. let's see what happens tomorrow. this is certified. so we'll know officially what happens tomorrow. >> to be continued. >> okay, thank you, larry. let's move on now. it is now thursday morning in taiwan, and the search continues to rescue any survivors there. that 7.4 earthquake hit taiwan yesterday. at least nine people have been killed, and a thousand more injured. that earthquake collapsed buildings, stranded workers in mines and sent people scrambling out of windows of damaged buildings.

rescuers are using specialized detection devices and dogs to try to find people who may be trapped. the numbers of those missing is still fluctuating at this point. the earthquake hit yesterday on the east side of the island near the town of hualien. this is about three hours from taipei. you can see some of the video here of the damage and destruction. that building kind of toppling over down on to that street. it also sent hillsides tumbling. many people near hualien live in remote coastal or mountain communities that can be hard to reach, complicating this search. joining us now is scott lai. he is the director general of taipei's economic and cultural office in san francisco. director general, thanks for being with us. we'll start by saying we're sorry the see what's happening in your country. what's the latest going on in terms of the search and rescue recovery in taiwan right now? >> yes, first, we is are very grateful for everyone's concern for taiwan. one day ago, following a

magnitude 7.2 earthquake, the hualien area of taiwan, our government right away activated the so-called central emergency operations center to assess the situation and initiate a recovery efforts in order to minimize the impact of the earthquake. so far the earthquake has caused deaths, more than one thousand injuries, and 148 people still trapped. and as for rescue efforts, hualien area is the most seriously damaged area. right now because hualien has mountains, so it's very difficult to reach. and currently our military is also cooperating with the local government to provide assistance as needed. as for recovery efforts, as of now, besides the damages to the

railways, especially in hualien area, all major airports and the sea coasts, railway, even the high-speed train are operating as normal. and please be fully assured. that's the situation right now. >> we're glad to hear that things are operating as normal. as you know here in san francisco, here in the bay area, we also have similar earthquake concerns. was the early detection warning system operating? i'm hearing from people that they got 30 seconds, 10 seconds. they did get early warning. >> yep, that's a very good question. taiwan we started a so-called earthquake warning system in 2016. and overall, it's working quite well. as long as magnitude 5 or bigger, people in the area will receive a notification from the government. for example, this time people in

hualien received a text message about 7:58 a.m. in the morning, not quite, earlier yet. but people in some areas which are less than magnitude 5 will not receive warning. it still has a lot of room to improve. to be honest, it's very difficult to fight against mother nature, but we're acting our best. >> it sure is. the same goes here in california as you know. a final question for you, director general, how can people help? there is a sizable portion of taiwanese people in the bay area. >> currently we are opting with a charity operation trying to figure out what kind of disaster relief we can provide to the people in taiwan. and also some taiwanese community leaders such as

chinese american federation of northern california. they are raising funds to help. so people in this area would like to help, please contact those two organizations or reach my office. we'll be happy to provide information for them. >> director general ming chi scott lai, we appreciate your time. >> thank you for having me. >> many people are wondering what would happen here if and when that 7.4 magnitude quake hits. in the east bay, the hayward fault is considered one of the area's most dangerous fault lines. seismologists estimated it will produce a 6.7 or greater quake within the next 12 years. people who live near the fault say they prepare as much as possible with extra supplies and making sure their homes are as stable as possible. but experts say taiwan is a very good and sobering reminder for us that even strict building codes can only do so much when

you're on a major fault line. >> in california, we maybe only see 5% being fault offset and 95% being the buildings failing. so they have very good building codes, but when the fault goes through the building, there is not much you can do. >> the state office of emergency services says it's prepared to deal with the major earthquake. nothing, though, has advance response plans, noting its advanced response plans, the shake alert that many of us, the prequake warning system and more. so download that on your phone if you don't have it. the best you can do is make sure you and your family have a plan of your own. well, up next, waymo launching a new service with its driverless cars getting you uber eats delivered to your home. we'll tell you how it works. you're watching you're watching nb with our new grocery outlet app,

you can see the store's inventory. so you guys really have mangoes in stock? yup. what about frozen pizza? here they are. fresh salmon. too easy. coffee? yup.

welcome back to nbc bay area news tonight. here is something that is catching our attention. a new feature from san francisco-based waymo. they're already doing driverless taxis, we know that. and now waymo is getting into food deliveries. but it's not happening in the bay area, at least not yet. waymo is now offering this food delivery service in phoenix, arizona. they're teaming up with uber eats. restaurants get a say on whether or not to participate. and so do the people ordering the food. joining us now from our cnbc studios, our senior investigative reporter bigad shaban. how does this work in phoenix? and i'm guessing it's a matter

of time before it comes to the bay area. >> we're weight to see if there are any future announcements for san francisco or the rest of the bay. for anyone who has ever used the uber eats app, this is going to function in a really similar way. right now it's only available at about five or so restaurants in the phoenix area. once you place your order, you'll actually get a notification in the app there a chance an autonomous vehicle could be the one to bring you your meal. and the app will give you the ability to open the trunk of the vehicle once it arrives. you grab your food, and the price is going to be the same, whether it's a driveless car or a human bringing you your food. the one big difference is with the autonomous vehicles, there is no tipping. >> that's interesting. so i open the trunk. what if i see your dinner, the other guy's dinner, someone else's dinner? i just take my own dinner and not take anyone else's? >> exactly. inevitably, there may be problems likely the may be some problems with a regular human. there is a function in the app to let people know there is an issue.

>> so waymo and cruise as you know have faced a lot of pushback specifically in san francisco in the bay area. how are those companies responding, whether it's publicly or behind closed doors? >> it's interesting to see this sort of technology move forward in the food delivery space. this is happening in a particularly interesting time. especially here in california. long been known as the tech capital of the universe. but california hasn't exactly been laying out the welcome mat for these driver rest companies. take waymo's mane competitor cruise owned by a subsidiary of general motors. that driverless car company has been off the road, raj, for some six month news. and that of course is after california regulators accused the driverless car company of posing an unreasonable risk to public safety. and now even at this point, the company remains under state as well as federal investigations, and there is no timeline on when cruise's fleet could be back on the road. there is certainly a number of safety issues that i think the industry as a whole needs to address as we continue to see

this technology adopted in the food delivery service. 1 of the pending questions with everyone wanting a tip is how soon before the driverless cars want one too. >> we'll see. that's a god question. waymo just got the green light to operate. when will they get on the road? >> waymo has had permission from the california dmv to actually travel on highways. it actually is doing so in phoenix with testing out its vehicles. but as a company, it's made a decision to not actually move forward as of now with doing paid service with passengers on highways. it's something that of course they're working towards. but at this point, waymo isn't making any announcements or declarations when that will happen whether in phoenix or for that matter san francisco ins its eventual effort to move farther south.

as you might imagine, one huge tourist attraction will be taking a driverless car to the airport. again, on paper, waymo does have the permission to actually do those rides. but the company for now is choosing not to. >> so not quite yet. by gad shaban, thanks for your time and outlook. this is a live look in walnut creek. walnut creek. the rains coming i

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