Flood problems grow as new storm moves into California
Crews rushed to repair a levee break on a storm-swollen river in California’s central coast as yet another atmospheric river arrived with the potential to further inundate the state’s swamped farmland and agricultural communities
WATSONVILLE, Calif. (AP) — Crews rushed to repair a levee break on a storm-swollen river in California's central coast as yet another atmospheric river arrived Monday with the potential to wallop the state's swamped farmland and agricultural communities.
The Pajaro River's first levee rupture grew to at least 400 feet (120 meters) since it failed late Friday, officials said. More than 8,500 people were forced to evacuate, and about 50 people had to be rescued as the water rose that night.
Still, some stayed behind in Pajaro, an unincorporated community that's known for its strawberry crops and is now mostly flooded. The largely Latino farmworker community there is already struggling to find food with so many roads and businesses closed in the storm's aftermath.
“Some people have nowhere to go and maybe that’s why there’s still people around," resident Jorbelit Rincon said Monday. "Pretty much they don’t know where to go and don’t have money to provide for themselves.”
