Death toll in California storms rises as state braces for another strong system
FORT BRAGG, Calif. — Several communities near California's Monterey Peninsula were told to flee their homes Wednesday after authorities warned that a river swollen by a series of drenching storms is expected to overflow its banks and possibly turn the area into an island.
Monterey County Sheriff Tina Nieto compared the anticipated flooding of the Salinas River to 1995, when heavy rains devastated the area and left people stranded on either side of the flooded waterway.
“We anticipate we’re going to go into a similar situation, but not as bad,” she told reporters. “We’re asking people to prepare for this.”
Flooding is expected to begin Thursday at noon and last until Friday, though residents may not be able to return for days depending on the severity of the event, she said. Towns and hamlets between Chualar, on Highway 101, and the Pacific Ocean were placed under evacuation orders Wednesday.
Tens of thousands more people were under evacuation warnings on the Salinas River, which state authorities warned was one of five waterways around California expected to exceed flood stage in the coming days.
The orders and warnings came as forecasters warned more torrential rains were on tap for Friday and the state’s death toll from an onslaught of atmospheric rivers rose to 18, a spokesman for the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services said.
The sheriff’s office in Sonoma County said Wednesday that a driver was killed when her car became submerged in floodwaters in Forestville, 65 miles north of San Francisco.
The woman, identified as Daphne Fontino, 43, called 911 Tuesday and reported water in her car before the line disconnected, the sheriff’s office said in a statement. Efforts to reach her again failed and authorities called off search when conditions deteriorated, the sheriff’s office said.
A search team returned to the area Wednesday morning and found her car 100 yards from the road, the sheriff’s office said. It was submerged in 8 to 10 feet of water.
"The Sheriff’s Office sends our condolences to victim’s family and friends during this challenging time," the statement said.