2 people found dead in floodwaters as atmospheric river pounded Northern California
Two people were found dead in Northern California floodwaters amid an atmospheric river that dumped a record amount of rain, causing rivers and creeks to overflow and creating hazardous conditions on roads, authorities said.
Both deaths were reported on Saturday in Sonoma County, about 60 miles north of San Francisco, which recorded 20 inches of rain over three days, officials said. The storm brought Sonoma County three times its normal November rainfall.
On Saturday, a man was found trapped in a car that became submerged in 6-foot-deep water when he apparently got stuck while trying to drive down a flooded road in the Russian River town of Guerneville, according to the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office.
A passerby spotted the car bobbing in the water around 11: 30 a.m. local time and called 911, according to the sheriff's office.
"The caller believed at least one person had occupied the car," the sheriff's office said in a statement.
Deputies and firefighters from Sonoma County and Monte Rio fire departments responded to the call, according to the sheriff's office.
"Crews were able to recover the occupant of the vehicle, but despite the quick work of first responders, the man was pronounced dead at the scene," the sheriff's office said.
It was unclear how long the man had been submerged in the vehicle before first responders reached him.
The name of the man, believed to be in his mid-60s, was being withheld by officials pending an autopsy by the Sonoma County Coroner's Office.
In its flood advisory, the National Weather Service specifically warned, “Turn around, don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles. Be aware of your surroundings and do not drive on flooded roads."
A second man was found dead on Saturday near an overflowing creek in the city of Santa Rosa, according to the Santa Rosa Police Department.
A resident hiking on the Piner Creek Trail called 911 after spotting a body in the creek at about 8:41 a.m., according to police.
The circumstances of how the man, who authorities suspect drowned, ended up in the creek remain under investigation. The exact cause of death is pending an autopsy.
The storm dumped 12.47 inches of rain in three days in Santa Rosa, qualifying it as a 1,000-year rain event.
Hiker Allan Johnson told San Francisco ABC station KGO that Piner Creek rose at least 6 feet during the record rainfall.
"I hike and walk here all the time. I've never seen water that high," Johnson said.
While the rain eased up on Sunday, a flood advisory remained in effect through Monday afternoon for central Sonoma County, as officials warned of flooding in small streams and low-lying areas.
The atmospheric river roared into the Northwest last week, slamming Washington and Oregon and sweeping down to Northern California, bringing high winds and torrential rain.
Two people were killed by falling trees in Washington state. In Bellevue, a tree fell into a home, hitting and killing a woman while she was in the shower on Tuesday night, Bellevue fire officials said.
The storm exploded into a "bomb cyclone" off the coast, near Vancouver Island, Canada, where winds gusted near 101 mph, officials said.
A bomb cyclone means the pressure in the storm's center drops 24 millibars within 24 hours.
