Storm chaos continues in California
Water levels rose once again in Santa Cruz County, prompting evacuation orders and forcing rescue crews to jump into action after a vehicle became stranded in the flooding.
Roads were blocked, evacuation orders were issued and at least one driver got stuck in high water as storms hit Santa Cuz County, California, on Jan. 14.
Yet another round of heavy rains hit some of California's most beleaguered spots on Saturday, inducing more chaos in storm-ridden Santa Cruz County, which has been under extreme duress over the past several weeks.
Several creeks and rivers in the Santa Cruz area became flooded once more due to rains and mountain runoff, including the Corralitos Creek just north of Watsonville, which left businesses surrounded by water and threatened local homes. Local officials once again warned families around the area to evacuate the area. The Soquel Creek also became swollen Saturday, sending water pounding into the side of homes just outside Capitola, with runoff from the Santa Cruz Mountains quickly going downhill.
In the midst of the latest flooding, rescue crews were called to the Scotts Valley area of the county, after a driver of a car became stuck in high waters. Local resident Brian Thom told AccuWeather National Reporter Bill Wadell that firefighters were able to get both the driver and a passenger to safety.
A vehicle in Santa Cruz County, California, was stuck in high waters Saturday, prompting rescue crews to free the driver and a passenger from the scene. (AccuWeather/Bill Wadell)
"There was a lot of commotion ... (the flooding) really is strong, don't try to drive across stuff if you have any question," Thom said.
Families in the Felton Grove neighborhood, which was one of the neighborhoods especially slammed by rains over the past week, were told yet again to evacuate, as downed trees and piles of debris ran down the San Lorenzo River. Video captured of the neighborhood saw entire streets flooded out, as waters rose to the top of mailboxes outside homes.
Most of the evacuation orders made Saturday were eventually downgraded to evacuation warnings, including in Soquel and Watsonville.
Authorities in the Bay Area county advised people to be careful over the next several days, as risks remain of more potential flooding and mudslides, as well as trees that can come down without warning. Further south, in the Woodland Hills area of Los Angeles County, this threat came to pass, as an oak tree fell during the nighttime hours Saturday, crushing a vehicle and blocking off an entire street.
The community of Felton Grove, California, was inundated with floodwaters yet again on Saturday. (AccuWeather/Bill Wadell)
Santa Cruz County was just one of the California counties that experienced flooding issues on Saturday. According to the sheriff in Napa County, approximately 130 miles north of Santa Cruz, multiple areas were flooded out during the morning hours. In the state's capitol region of Sacramento County, an evacuation order was put into immediate effect in the late afternoon for the Wilton area, with residents asked to leave due to rising levels of the Cosumnes River.
Active severe weather continued in the state Monday, particularly in the Southern California hub of San Diego. In the city's Mission Valley neighborhood, multiple vehicles were reported as trapped in floodwaters, with roads underwater prompting police to block off Qualcomm Way near Camino De La Reina. Flooding was also seen in the parking lot of San Diego's Fashion Valley Mall.
Back in the Bay Area, a landslide in the Berkeley Hills area of Berkeley, California, forced about 10 homes to be evacuated Monday morning, with about 20 residents of the homes assisted by the Red Cross. Residents were warned to prepare to leave quickly if needed by officials. A landslide also shut down a campus roadway at nearby school UC Berkeley, according to campus police.
In San Francisco, a World War II-era military structure fell onto the beach due to heavy rainfall at Fort Funston, with no injuries reported from the incident.
The stretch of flooding and other hazards was another hit to a state that has been slammed since before the New Year's holiday. The winter storms have caused at least 19 storm-related deaths to date, with California Gov. Gavin Newsom noting that the storms had taken "more lives than wildfire in the past two years combined." Deaths were reported in 10 different counties, including Santa Cruz, where 72-year-old Gary Yules was killed by a falling cypress tree on Dec. 31, 2022.
In response to the series of storms, President Joe Biden approved the state's major disaster declaration request for recovery efforts, approving federal allocations to individuals impacted by storms in Sacramento, Santa Cruz and Merced counties.
The assistance can include grants for temporary housing, home repairs and loans to cover uninsured property losses. The declaration approval gives individuals and businesses more help to recover from the effects of the disaster, and also provides assistance to local governments in the impacted counties.
Additional reporting by AccuWeather National Reporter Bill Wadell.
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