Evacuation warnings amid flooding after California storm

Residents of a Northern California community were ordered to evacuate ahead of impending flooding, and evacuation warnings were issued in other rural parts of the region on New Year’s Day after a powerful storm brought torrential rain or heavy snow. across much of the state, breaching levees, causing traffic gridlock and closing major highways.

Even after the storm progressed, extensive flooding occurred in agricultural areas about 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of Sacramento, where rivers burst their banks, inundating dozens of cars along State Route 99.

Emergency crews rescued motorists on New Year’s Eve through Sunday morning and the road remained closed. Crews found one person dead inside a submerged vehicle near Route 99 on Sunday, Dan Quiggle, deputy fire chief for operations with the Cosumnes Community Services District Fire Department, told The Sacramento Bee.

Sacramento County authorities issued an evacuation order Sunday night for residents of the low-lying community of Point Pleasant near Interstate 5, citing imminent and dangerous flooding. Residents of the nearby communities of Glanville Tract and Franklin Pond were told to prepare to leave before rising waters cut off more roads and evacuation becomes impossible.

“Cosumnes River and Mokelumne River flooding is expected to move southwest toward I-5 and could reach these areas in the middle of the night,” the Sacramento County Office of Emergency Services said earlier in Twitter Sunday afternoon. “Cattle in affected areas should be moved to higher ground.”

To the north, in the state capital, crews cleared downed trees from roads and sidewalks as at least 17,000 customers were still without power Sunday, up from more than 150,000 the day before, according to an online map of the District. Sacramento Municipal Public Services.

Near Lake Tahoe, dozens of drivers were rescued on New Year’s Eve along Interstate 80 after cars skidded in the snow during the blizzard, the California Department of Transportation said. The key route into the mountains from the San Francisco Bay Area reopened early Sunday to chained passenger vehicles.

“Roads are extremely slippery so let’s all work together and slow down so we can keep I-80 open,” the California Highway Patrol said on Twitter. Several other highways, including State Route 50, have also reopened.

[Con información de The Associated Press]

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