Atmospheric river floods California with more rain and snow

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (AP) — More than 9,000 California residents were ordered to evacuate Friday after a new atmospheric river brought torrential rains, thunderstorms and high winds, causing rivers and streams to rise and flooding several freeways during the morning rush hour.

In Santa Cruz County, a rain-swollen creek washed away part of a main street in Soquel, a town of 10,000, isolating several neighborhoods. Specialist crews were working to remove trees and other debris and trying to find a way for people to cross the creek, local officials said.

County authorities have asked residents to stay indoors. Heather Wingfield, a teacher who runs a small urban garden with her husband in Soquel, said she and her neighbors are, for now, stuck at home as Bates Creek meanders through Main Street.

“It’s awful,” he said. “I hope no one has a medical emergency.”

Wingfield said his neighbours’ water infrastructure was also washed away, but his family’s well would allow them to continue to have running water. So far, he said, the floods had not affected his garden, where families in the neighborhood harvest pumpkins, zucchini and sunflowers every summer.

Winfiled said that since they live near Soquel Creek, it means they are aware there could be flooding, but “I never imagined it would wash out the sewers.”

The nearby town of Watsonville was ordered to evacuate, where the creek overflowed its banks and covered roads with feet of water, putting several homes at risk of flooding. In one house, chickens in a garden pen were tied to a bar near the roof to keep out the water.

In central California, the Tule River burst its banks, flooding several homes. Videos posted on social media show a handful of houses and cars underwater and at least one road destroyed by the rising river in the town of Springville.

Several public parks, including Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, have been closed to the public due to ongoing torrential rains.

In the San Francisco Bay Area, floodwaters blocked sections of several major freeways, including Interstate 580 in Oakland, disrupting traffic.

It is the tenth winter atmospheric river in the state, storms that brought with them huge amounts of rain and snow and helped ease the drought conditions of the past three years. State dam levels had dropped to very low levels and are now well above average for this time of year, after which state officials released water to support flood control. floods and make room for even more rain. ___ Rodriguez reported from San Francisco. Associated Press writers John Antczak in Los Angeles and Adam Beam in Sacramento contributed to this report.