Evacuation warnings were in place in rural Northern California on New Year’s Day after a powerful storm brought drenching rain or heavy snowfall to much of the state, breaching levees, snarling traffic and closing major highways.
Evacuation warnings were in place in rural Northern California on New Year’s Day after a powerful storm brought drenching rain or heavy snowfall to much of the state, breaching levees, snarling traffic and closing major highways.
Major flooding occurred in agricultural areas about 20 miles south of Sacramento, where rivers swelled beyond their banks and inundated dozens of cars along State Route 99. Emergency crews rescued motorists on New Year’s Eve into Sunday morning and the highway remained closed.
Residents of the low-lying communities of Point Pleasant, Glanville Tract and Franklin Pond near Interstate 5 were told to prepare to leave before more roadways are cut off by rising water and evacuation becomes impossible.
“It is expected that the flooding from the Cosumnes River and the Mokelumne River is moving southwest toward I-5 and could reach these areas in the middle of the night,” the Sacramento County Office of Emergency Services said on Twitter Sunday afternoon. “Livestock in the affected areas should be moved to higher ground.”
To the north in the state’s capital, crews cleared downed trees from roads and sidewalks as at least 33,000 customers were still without power Sunday, down from more than 150,000 a day earlier, according to a Sacramento Municipal Utility District online map.
