2 dead and 25,000 without power as California flooding continues

Roughly 10,000 people have been ordered to evacuate their homes in California due to the intensifying floods.

The floods have already claimed the lives of at least two people and stranded many others, CNN reports.

Powerful winter storms are responsible for the catastrophes, and have led to the Weather Prediction Center issuing a Level 4 of 4 warning of excessive rainfall.

President Biden has also approved a state of emergency declaration that will allow California to receive financial and other federal assistance in the recovery process.

25,000 residents are currently without electricity in the area, according to PowerOutage.us, and some 25 million are under flood alerts issued by the National Weather Service.

The flooding comes while some in California’s mountainous regions are still trapped by snow from recent snow showers. Now, it looks like rising rivers could lead to more damage.

“Multiple rounds of rainfall in addition to melting snow will result in the potential for significant rises along streams and rivers, with widespread flooding impacts possible through early next week,” said Nancy Ward, director of the state’s Office of Emergency Services, in a Friday press conference.

Flash flooding is expected to be a serious concern for many regions.

As of Friday, Gov. Gavin Newsom had placed 34 of 58 counties in his state under a state of emergency, and had more than a dozen shelters opened for those forced out of their homes.

California’s transportation department, CalTrans, has over 4,000 crew members currently working around the clock to combat the severe weather, moving downed trees and clearing drain pipes. The California National Guard has also deployed 36 high water vehicles to help with the rescue effort.

In the town of Soquel, nearly 700 residents are trapped after a pipe failure led to a road collapsing from water damage.

“This is the one road that leads into town,” said Soquel resident Molly Watson. “We are now an island.”

The rain is expected to continue through Friday evening, as the storms bring adverse weather to other parts of the U.S. as well.

Winter weather alerts took effect from South Dakota to Connecticut. Parts of Wisconsin received 6-8 inches of snow, which managed to knockout the power of over 100,000 residents according to PowerOutage.us.