Levee breaches on Pajaro River in Monterey County prompting evacuations and rescues
Hundreds of people in the agricultural community of Pajaro in Monterey County were forced to flee their homes when the Pajaro River levee breached Friday night following a day of heavy rain, prompting authorities to call in the California National Guard to help rescue stranded residents from floodwaters, county officials said.
The breach happened at around midnight just upstream from Pajaro near Watsonville after evacuation orders were issued for the area.
As of Saturday morning, the breach was around 100 feet wide, officials said. The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning lasting through 11:45 a.m. Saturday.
Flooding is massive in #Pajaro in Monterey County, impacting our 1,700 residents
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
— Luis Alejo
(@SupervisorAlejo) March 11, 2023
The National Guard assisted first responders with 56 rescues in the area, authorities said. Search and rescue teams remain on site and more are on their way. State and local engineers are assessing the damage and determining next steps.
The community of Pajaro is home to around 1,700 residents, many of whom are Latino farmworkers.
On Twitter, Monterey County Supervisor Luis Alejo called on President Joe Biden and Gov. Gavin Newsom to visit the damage “as soon as possible.”
“We were hoping to avoid and prevent this situation, but the worst case scenario has arrived,” Alejo said.
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
Authorities opened an evacuation shelter at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds at 2061 East Lake Blvd. in Watsonville. Additional shelters are open at Compass Church at 10325 South Main St. in Salinas and the Prunedale Library at 17822 Moro Road.
The Monterey–Salinas Transit bus service is offering free rides to evacuation centers.
As of Saturday morning, over 8,500 people in Monterey County were under mandatory evacuation orders or warnings. Authorities issued mandatory evacuation orders and warnings for the following areas:
Evacuation Orders
- Areas of Aroyo Seco
- Pajaro Community
- San Ardo
Evacuation Warnings
- Areas of Carmel Valley
- Areas of North Salinas
- Areas of Bolsa Knolls
- Carmel River Lagoon area
- Big Sur River, Effective Friday
- All areas of the Salinas River
The breach came on the front end of a powerful atmospheric river weather pattern that is forecast to last into next week. The Monterey County area was expected to see more rain by Saturday night, according to the National Weather Service.