A levee was breached on a Northern California river early Saturday, forcing the evacuation of more than 1,500 residents, authorities said.
According to the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office, the levee failure on the Pajaro River led to the evacuation as the area was experiencing “life-threatening” flash flooding, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
The breach happened at around midnight local time near Watsonville, according to the East Bay Times. As of Saturday morning, the breach was approximately 100 feet wide, officials told the newspaper.
Flooding is massive in #Pajaro in Monterey County, impacting our 1,700 residents
— Luis Alejo⚖️ (@SupervisorAlejo) March 11, 2023
I’ve reached out to President #JoeBiden @POTUS & Governor @GavinNewsom to invite them visit Pajaro as soon as possible🙏🏽
The need will be great! Will take months for our residents to repair homes! pic.twitter.com/0vBXUgezo9
Officials with the National Guard assisted first responders with 56 rescues in the area, the Times reported.
“We were hoping to avoid and prevent this situation, but the worst case scenario has arrived with the Pajaro River overtopping and levee breaching at about midnight,” Luis Alejo, chair of the Monterey County Board of Supervisors, tweeted early Saturday.
The breach came on the front end of a powerful atmospheric river weather pattern, which is forecast to continue into next week, the Times reported. According to the National Weather Service, the Monterey County area was expected to see more rain by Saturday night.
The levee was built in 1949, the Chronicle reported.
According to the Pajaro River Watershed Flood Prevention Authority, the levee has broken several times, flooding area communities. In 1995, a flood caused more than $95 million in damages and two deaths. In 2017, the levees nearly failed.
Cal Guard Soldiers have supported first responders in 56 rescues near the Pajaro river in Monterey County. @CAgovernor @Cal_OES #montereycounty #alwaysreadyalwaysthere pic.twitter.com/VKsKbzsXJ0
— The California National Guard (@CalGuard) March 11, 2023
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation in September 2022 to fund the Pajaro River Flood Risk Management Project, according to the Chronicle. Construction was expected to begin in 2024.
“We are closely monitoring the situation in Pajaro,” the governor’s office wrote on Twitter Saturday morning. “Our thoughts are with everyone impacted and the state has mobilized to support the community.”
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