Pajaro Levee Broken By Atmospheric River Surge; Worst Case Scenario; Community Flooded: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has described the rainfall in California as a “river in the sky,” causing many to be evacuated. The intense weather forced the Pajaro River’s levee to collapse, leading to 8,500 evacuation orders in Monterey County on the Pacific coast.
The California Governor’s Office for Emergency Services argues that an evacuation order is “necessary” and an “official command to depart,” as the conditions threaten life. Another round of storms is headed to flood-ravaged California, where residents still grapple with impassable roads, overflowing rivers, inundated neighborhoods, and a levee breach that forced hundreds to evacuate.
“Rainfall totals exceeding 6 inches are possible across portions of central and Northern California through this event,” Meteorologist Haley Brink.
On Monday night, “the rain will target more sensitive portions of central California that were hit severely by the rainfall on Friday and early Saturday,” the Weather Prediction Center stated. As a result, it “won’t take long once the steady heavy rain gets started for flooding impacts to resume.”
On Tuesday, Caltrans District 5, a California Department of Transportation division, tweeted that Highway 1 was closed between Salinas Road and Highway 129 in Watsonville because of flooding.
According to AP, evacuation officials had phoned residences on Friday to persuade inhabitants to evacuate. They had to pull some of those who refused from flooding on Saturday.
People can least afford this kind of hardship
In certain areas, more flooding could make an already grave situation even worse after massive walls of rain in recent days transformed streets into rivers and wrecked highways, leaving residents stranded and requiring rescue efforts. Officials have confirmed that at least two people died from the storms.
The Associated Press reported that first responders and the California National Guard had to pull more than 50 individuals from the ocean overnight.
At least two individuals died on Friday due to the terrible weather conditions, with one person being murdered after a section of the roof collapsed at an Oakland warehouse, according to the LA Times.
Yet the worst isn’t yet finished; CNN reported that nearly 15 million people are under flood watches in California and Nevada as a second “river in the sky” approaches.
The National Weather Service has said that the worst storm will likely hit late Monday through to early Tuesday. However, heavy rains have already seen many be given evacuation orders.
Have a look at the Tweet of the Office of the Governer of California:
California's Emergency Proclamation to support storm response and relief efforts has been extended to include three additional counties: Alpine, Orange, and Trinity.https://t.co/afMBTR0R9r
— Office of the Governor of California (@CAgovernor) March 15, 2023
According to the Weather Prediction Center, from Monday night, “the rain will target more sensitive sections of central California that were pounded severely by the rainfall on Friday and early Saturday,” warned. They stated it “won’t take long once the steady heavy rain gets started for flooding impacts to continue.”
Mandatory Evacuation orders issued for the Community of #Pajaro due to a #LeveeBreak. Please heed evac warnings/orders. Pajaro River levee broke early this morning resulting in active flooding. #Evacuate if told. #TurnAroundDontDrown @Cal_OES @CaltransHQ @CAgovernor pic.twitter.com/tDttiTcaC0
— California Governor's Office of Emergency Services (@Cal_OES) March 11, 2023
“THANK YOU to the volunteers who walk door-to-door once again in #Pajaro to warn residents about the evacuation,” Alejo tweeted about the effort.
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