Photos: California battered by destructive flooding, evacuations
An aerial view of four cliff-side, ocean-view apartment buildings, which were evacuated and tagged on Wednesday in San Clemente. The bluff is still moving, officials said.
California’s 11th atmospheric river storm of the season barreled through a beleaguered state Tuesday, dropping more rain and snow, sending thousands once again scrambling for higher ground and leaving more than 300,000 without power.
More than a dozen locations along major rivers including areas along the Salinas, Sacramento and Merced rivers, were overflowing as the high-impact storm moved south through the state. The Pajaro River, which suffered a levee breach from a similar storm last week, continued to spill water onto neighboring farmlands and communities.
At least 90 flood watches, warnings and advisories were in effect statewide, as were avalanche warnings in portions of Mono and Inyo counties and the Lake Tahoe area, according to the National Weather Service, which said the storm would “create considerable to locally catastrophic flooding impacts below 5,000 feet elevation.”
An exasperated Irineo Zaragoza, left, looks over his flooded home in Woodlake on Wednesday as his wife, Veronica, tries to salvage personal items.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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The neighborhood at Hillside Estates in Woodlake in Tulare County is flooded on Wednesday after the previous night’s heavy rains.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Madisyn Liles, holding 1-year-old Luka, watches with her husband, Keylan, as two pumps work throughout the day on Wednesday to remove water from their flooded home in Woodlake.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Don Stinson is rescued from mud by the Swift Water Rescue Team from the state Office of Emergency Services.
(Tomas Ovalle / For The Times)
Both sides of Pacific Coast Highway were closed on Wednesday due to flooding between Warner Avenue and Seapoint Street in Huntington Beach. Reopening times were not announced.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
A man rescues his two birds from his home along Salinas Road in Pajaro, Calif.
(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)
Residents check out the damage Tuesday after the swollen Tule River crumbled parts of Globe Drive in Springville, Calif.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Local police drive a military vehicle along flooded Salinas Road in Pajaro.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
A farmworker clears a drain in the Watsonville area.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
The Kaweah River roars through the landscape in Three Rivers, Calif.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Floodwaters surround farm machinery in Pajaro in Monterey County.
(Noah Berger / Associated Press)
Pamela and Patrick Cerruti empty coins from Pajaro Coin Laundry machines. “We lost it all. That’s half a million dollars of equipment,” said Pamela, who added that they plan to rebuild.
(Noah Berger / Associated Press)
Floodwaters surround homes and vehicles in the community of Pajaro in Monterey County.
(Noah Berger/Associated Press)
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The Tule River rages through Springville, Calif., washing away the foundation of a home Saturday.
(Tomas Ovalle / For The Times)
An aerial view of almond blossom trees in a flooded area of Tulare County on Saturday.
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