- A “river in the sky” spilled over California, causing flooding.
- 2 people have died in the extreme weather.
- Thousands are under evacuation orders as another storm is expected to arrive on Monday.
An atmospheric river, which the The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration likens it to a “river in the sky” has descended on California, forcing thousands to evacuate.
Extreme weather caused the Pajaro River levee to breach, prompting 8,500 evacuation orders in Monterey County on the Pacific coast.
The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services states that an evacuation order is “mandatory” and an “official order to go” as conditions are considered life threatening.
—Mike Valerio (@ValerioCNN) March 11, 2023
According to the AP, evacuation officials called homes Friday to encourage residents to evacuate. They had to pull some of those who refused out of the floods on Saturday.
Lifeguards and the California National Guard had to save more than 50 people from the water overnight, the AP reports.
At least two people died Friday as a result of severe weather conditions, with one person dying after a part of the roof collapsed at an Oakland warehouse, according to the The Los Angeles Times.
But the worst is not over yet. About 15 million people are under flood watch in California and Nevada as a second “river in the sky” approaches. reports CNN.
The National Weather Service has said The worst of the storm is forecast to hit late Monday into early Tuesday, although heavy rains have already resulted in thousands of people receiving evacuation orders.
According to the weather forecast centerAs of Monday night, “the rain will affect increasingly sensitive parts of central California that were hit hard by the rains on Friday and early Saturday,” he said. They added that “it won’t be long once the steady heavy rains begin for the impacts of the flooding to resume.”
