Thousands were evacuated when the Cosumnes River flooded in northern California (Picture: AP/Reuters)
Over 1,000 people were evacuated in northern California after severe flooding from an ‘atmospheric river’ storm broke levees and left hundreds of thousands without power.
Rainfall from the storm overwhelmed the Cosumnes River, causing at least three levees to break and overflow roadways and infrastructure just 20 miles south of California’s state capital in Sacramento.
About 1,600 people in the rural communities of Point Pleasant, Glanville Tract, and Franklin Pond were evacuated on Sunday in anticipation of the flooding.
The Sacramento Office of Emergency Services warned that flooding from surging river could threaten drivers on Insterstate-5 and livestock in local farms.
Floodwaters in San Carlos, California submerge a pharmacy (Picture: PUNEET via REUTERS)
At least one person was found dead in a car submerged by floodwaters on California Route 99.
Immediately after the storm, about 150,000 Sacramento Municipal Utility customers were left stranded without power.
About 5,500 Sacramento customers were still out of power on Monday morning, according to Poweroutage.us. About 21,000 customers in neighboring San Joaquin County and another 5,000 customers in Yolo County are also out of power.
The flooding was caused by a so-called ‘atmospheric river’ storm – a type of storm that funnels water from the Pacific Ocean onto the West Coast of North America.
According to the National Weather Service (NWS), ‘these extreme events can disrupt travel, induce mudslides, and cause damage to life and property.’
Atmospheric rivers can bring damaging winds and rain, but they can also bring much-needed relief to drought-stricken regions up and down the West Coast.
Elsewhere in the state, Californians also felt the effects of the atmospheric river.
The Lake Tahoe area saw severe blizzard conditions on New Year’s Eve, with several drivers stranded on Interstate-80. The California Department of Transportation briefly closed the highway overnight, along with California Route 50.
In southern California, floodwaters engulfed roadways in San Bernardino County and Orange County, but there were no reported deaths, injuries, or significant power outages.
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