A van sits in at a Sausalito, Calif., freeway exit, Friday, Dec. 30, 2005. Areas north of the San Francisco Bay area were already saturated from earlier onslaughts of rain. (AP)
Posted on 12/31/2005 10:13:38 PM PST by bd476
NAPA, Calif. - A powerful storm sent rivers and creeks spilling over their banks and into cities and set off mudslides that blocked major highways across Northern California on Saturday. At least a dozen people had to be rescued from the rushing water, and forecasters were warning of another storm on Sunday.
California officials urged residents along the Napa and Russian rivers and on hillsides to collect their valuables and get out.
In the city of Napa, near the heart of wine country, the river rose 5 feet over flood stage and water surged into downtown before the water began to recede. Napa officials estimated about 1,000 homes flooded.
"We had so much water in such a short amount of time that man hole covers were popping all over the city," said Napa City Councilman James Krider.
The Russian River was menacing the Sonoma County town of Guerneville, where forecasters warned that the river was still rising and could reach 14 feet above flood stage, and officials were urging residents to evacuate.
Farther inland, Reno, Nev., was seeing its worst flooding since New Year's Day 1997, when high water caused $1 billion in damage. The Truckee River swamped downtown buildings on Saturday, and parts of nearby Sparks were under 4 feet of water. Many businesses along the river closed and owners spent the day piling sandbags.
Rescue crews also had their hands full, plucking stranded drivers from cars and from flooded homes across the region.
In Sonoma County alone, helicopters were used in at least six rescues, and firefighters rescued two more people from a mobile home park, where 4 feet of rushing water washed at least one home off its foundation.
"We are just very strongly recommending that people living in the lower areas lock up everything and go to higher ground," said Linda Eubanks of Sonoma County's Office of Emergency Services. "Just because it stopped raining doesn't mean the water is going down."
Rick Diaz took off on his own through a flooded Petaluma neighborhood in a 14-foot Zodiac boat, ferrying residents to dry ground and rescuing their pets.
"He's a hero," said a tearful Suzi Keber after the wetsuit-clad Diaz rescued two pet lizards from her home.
In downtown San Anselmo, the creek overflowed into as many as 70 businesses, said town administrator Debbie Stutsman. Two people rescued from the rising water there were hospitalized with hypothermia, she said.
"I'm looking out of my office now at merchants bringing their damaged goods out into the street," Stutsman said. "The entire downtown area was under 4 1/2 feet of water."
A levee in Novato, 20 miles north of San Francisco, was breached around noon Saturday, though no homes were threatened. In Sacramento, crews removed part of a wall along the swollen Sacramento River, allowing it to flow into a bypass, and then a flood plain, rather than risk the wall being topped by floodwater close to downtown.
Mudslides closed several major roads, including Interstate 80 in the Sierra Nevada about 25 miles west of Reno. Six tractor-trailer rigs were caught up in one slide on the interstate early Saturday, but no injuries were reported. I-80, the major corridor linking Northern California and points east, was expected to remain closed at least two days, said Department of Transportation spokesman Mark Dinger.
"No work can be done until the slide stabilizes and we don't know when that will occur," Dinger said.
Together, the two weekend storms could add as much as 6 inches of rain to the already water-logged region, said Rick Canepa, a weather service meteorologist in Monterey. More than 2 feet of snow was also forecast in the Sierra Nevada.
One woman suffered a broken leg when a mudslide destroyed her home in Santa Rosa late Friday. It took firefighters nearly an hour to free her from the mud and debris, said Santa Rosa Fire Battalion Chief Andy Pforsich.
Flash flooding and landslides temporarily closed Interstate 5 both ways near the Oregon line. U.S. Highway 101 was closed by fallen trees and mud south of Crescent City.
Rain also started moving into Southern California on Saturday, where authorities in Los Angeles rescued a 60-year-old homeless man trapped on a sandbar in a river, said fire spokesman Brian Humphrey. The man was hospitalized in fair condition.
"He is very fortunate to be alive," Humphrey said.
Flash flood watches were issued for large areas recently burned by wildfires in Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles counties. Even Pasadena's Rose Parade, set for Monday, was in danger of rain for the first time in half a century.
A van sits in at a Sausalito, Calif., freeway exit, Friday, Dec. 30, 2005. Areas north of the San Francisco Bay area were already saturated from earlier onslaughts of rain. (AP)
A big mess and more rain is on the way, not as much is expected as just dumped but.. a lot of folks in the affected areas will not soon forget the last 2005 storm anytime soon.
These dopes wont listen to anyone!
Prayers for all concerned. We have a very dear friend that lives in the downtown section of Napa. I will try to call her tomorrow to see if she is okay.
The Russian River is notorious for folks building well inside established flood areas.
Napa took a good shot again as well, ironically they are working on a major flood control project there.
Oh I did not want to see that, Norm. I was hoping and wishing that storm would go somewhere else.
Thanks for posting it, though. :D
Prayers up for all those folks affected. Hope they have flood insurance.
I saw the results of a weird accident earlier this evening and I'm still trying to figure out how it happened. A small two door car was sitting smack dab in the middle of very heavy, tall brush with no obvious entry point.
According to a CHP dispatcher, the people walked away from the accident uninjured and that a tow truck later extricated the car.
When I drove past the area, it appeared that the car had flown into the median of a connector road which was all very overgrown tall grass, trees and shrubs. The car had landed upright. There was no way any car could go forwards or backwards in that brush.
Good, let's go with that. It's a good start, Norm. :-)
I wish some of it would keep on going and head for Texas and Oklahoma.
The winds hopefully will be down a bit as well. There were some pretty good gusts reported up and down the North Coast and Bay Area. Lots of trees down.
I was stranded in the 1982 flood in downtown San Anselmo. The creek was rushing whitewater through downtown San Anselmo. Quite an experience. Hope it doesn't get that bad again.
Worse. Downtown San Anselmo was under 4 ft. of water today. What a mess.
I'd like these people to drive thru 2 feet of snow like they think they can drive thru water, and the snow you get today will still be there till April.
As a Michigander for 50 years, you learn about snow-ice from November to April. Ever use a roof rake ?
Sounds like Dingy Harry might have had forsight being born in Searchlight Nev... it could be a coastal city soon
Developers build in well established flood areas - folks buy the houses - City Development; Board of Supervisors; Flood Control and the Army Corps of Engineers all have a hand in allowing this to happen around the nation. The ACE is usually the last to be contacted by builders if at all, developers slip around that testy little wrinkle and the city and county have a disclaimer in small print. It is the City and County departments that approve building permits on inappropriate land as they are looking for a broader tax base.
The tax payers pay for this when nature does her thing again. It only takes a little research to see if the house you want to buy is built in a floodplain – if it is and the buyer persists – don’t come whining to FEMA or any other agency to bail you out….at least that should be the law...sadly it is not and the tax payer gets hit again.
Russian River, I remember it as being some type of Gay Riviera.
As for us in So. CA. - HEP US - PLEASE MR BUSH - HEP US.
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