Northern California flooding

Residents of a Northern California community were ordered to evacuate ahead of imminent flooding, and evacuation warnings were in place elsewhere in rural parts of the region on New Year’s Day after a powerful storm brought drenching rain or heavy snowfall to much of the state, breaching levees, snarling traffic and closing major highways.

Even after the storm moved through, major flooding occurred in agricultural areas about 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of Sacramento, where rivers swelled beyond their banks and inundated dozens of cars along State Route 99.

Emergency crews rescued motorists on New Year’s Eve into Sunday morning and the highway remained closed. Crews on Sunday found one person dead inside a submerged vehicle near Route 99, Dan Quiggle, deputy fire chief for operations for Cosumnes Community Service District Fire Department, told The Sacramento Bee.

Sacramento County authorities issued an evacuation order late Sunday for residents of the low-lying community of Point Pleasant near Interstate 5, citing imminent and dangerous flooding. Residents of the nearby communities of Glanville Tract and Franklin Pond were told to prepare to leave before more roadways are cut off by rising water and evacuation becomes impossible.