Pajaro River evacuees await new storm and more flooding
Water expected to rise again after levee breach forces more than 3,000 to flee; Monterey County officials now look to Salinas River and order new evacuations
The waters will be rising again, and the worries are mounting.
Dozens of Monterey County residents who packed up their lives after fleeing Pajaro River floodwaters spent Sunday sheltering at evacuation centers, thumbing through piles of hand-me-down clothing, filling up with plates of warm food — and fretting about the future.
Pajaro residents Lucia Mendoza and her husband, Francisco Curiel, had been jolted awake at 1 a.m. Saturday by wailing police sirens and voices over loudspeakers warning of a coming flood and urging evacuation. As quickly as they could, the two rushed to grab their three daughters and snatch any valuables they could.
“I was in complete panic,” Mendoza said through tears in the middle of the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, where evacuated families are sheltering after a 100foot breach opened up on the 74-year-old levee along the Pajaro River. “We got our kids' documents and our immigration documents and that's it. We didn't bring anything else, and I'm worried that my house is just completely flooded.”
But the rain that upended their lives isn't over, and floodwaters in the area are expected to rise as weather forecasters project another atmospheric river to beat down on Northern California.
After light showers during the day today, the full brunt of the atmospheric river will arrive by this evening, the National Weather Service said. That could mean 2 to 3 inches of rain in Monterey County, 1-2 inches of rain in San Jose and 1-1½ inches in Contra Costa County.
More rain this week is the last thing needed for a community that is “underwater,” Monterey County Sheriff Tina Nieto said, adding that public safety personnel have evacuated about 3,000 people. Of that number, more than 200 had to be rescued via high-water vehicles and boats.
Now officials have their eyes on the Salinas River, which has been rising, prompting new evacuation orders on Sunday. A flood warning went into effect at 1 a.m., and nearby residents were urged to be prepared to seek higher ground. The river is a rare one in that it flows south to north, and Monterey County spokesperson Nicholas Pasculli said areas along the river from Greenfield to the south and Gonzales in the north may be in peril.
The county said 3,260 residents are currently under evacuation and on Sunday afternoon, Pasculli said, they were considering additional evacuation orders.
“I gotta tell folks, I know you're tired, you have storm warning fatigue, but we give you these warnings because Mother Nature is very fickle,” Nieto said.
The Salinas River is just one of four major rivers in the county, and officials said the ground is even more saturated than it was in January when residents had to evacuate for another atmospheric river storm.
Roads around the county also have been affected as the Monterey County Office of Emergency Services announced the full closure of Highway 1 around 9:15 a.m. Sunday. Caltrans has yet to give an estimate on when it will reopen and Nieto said it likely won't be soon as crews will need to check the road for damage first. In the Bay Area, the California Highway Patrol shut down interstate 880 in the Fremont/Newark area, with lanes near Thornton Avenue underwater. San Mateo County's Belmont Creek also flooded, closing some nearby streets.
Monterey County officials on Sunday said they heard some residents impacted by the flood have been hesitant to use the
four major evacuation shelters in Watsonville, Salinas, Greenfield and Seaside. They emphasized, however, that the shelters are available for all residents — regardless of their immigration status.
And, Pasculli said: “There is still room at the shelters. We are looking to add capacity.”
While Mendoza and Curiel said they will likely sleep at the fairgrounds facility for the next few days and are happy their family is safe, there is only one thing on their mind: rent.
The two strawberry pickers have gone through the past few weeks worried about how they will make ends meet. Though she would normally be picking fruit by this time of the year, now Mendoza and Curiel must find other work wherever they can.
“We really don't know what is going to happen,” Curiel said. “The fields are flooded; they're gone. The rent isn't waiting. I'm sure my landlord won't care and will just charge us anyway. But how are we going to pay? How are we going to feed ourselves?”
It's a sentiment that was being felt by many at the shelter on Sunday as they waited to see what the next atmospheric river would bring.
Bernardino Gracida, 30, who fled from the rising waters with his wife and kids, said he's “depressed” to see so many Latino families suffering the way he is.
Like many other farmworkers in the region, Gracida hasn't worked since last year's harvest nearly six months ago. With no work any time soon and with rent due despite their hardship, Gracida said he feels “left behind.”
“What I really am sitting here thinking about is that no one has come to the shelter to make us feel better or update us or anything,” Gracida said. “Where are they? That's my problem is they always forget us. They talked to us about the dangers of the floods and how they want to protect us, but where are they now? Where is the county?”
“What I really am sitting here thinking about is that no one has come to the shelter to make us feel better or update us or anything.” — Bernardino Gracida, 30, who fled from the rising waters with his wife and kids.