Salinas residents evacuated after flood waters breach levy near Santa Rita Creek

Crews on Russell Road in Salinas are monitoring Santa Rita Creek very closely on Thursday night. That’s because it’s gushing with water from a nearby levy which broke open earlier in the day. People who live in the neighborhood said they’re not surprised by all the flood water.

“15 years ago after the last big flood, we had to raise our yard up so it was level so that water wouldn’t go into our yard. So it helped,” said resident Keith Wise.

Wise and his wife Lisa said they live on Paul Avenue which is right next to Russell Road. Both streets have significant flooding with 13 homes evacuated so far. Crews said those homes filled up with more than 18 inches of water in a short amount of time.

“An irrigation ditch behind here that’s breached the levy in two different places significantly,” said Salinas Fire Chief Ed Rodriguez.

A few hours into the storm crews reported the levy, managed by Monterey County Water Resources, was broken beyond repair despite some plans to try and block it with sand. The Wises said they’re not sure if something could have been done to prevent the breach.

“All the runoff runs low obviously and it had to go somewhere and we’re it,” Wise said.

Several residents gathered what they could and got an escort by firefighters out of the water. Mom Janie Cruz said her daughter has flood insurance, but this was unexpected.

“I’ve never dealt with a flood before,” Cruz said.

As firefighters continue working through the night to save homes, Cruz and her daughter said they waited patiently for help.

“I mean I understand they’re trying to put they’re electronics, he’s a computer guy and they’re trying to secure everything but it’s a little unnerving,” Cruz said.

Firefighters said these homes run on a septic system, which backed up, contaminating all the water on the ground.

“Appliances and anything if value we’ve got up pretty high in the homes to salvage as much as we can,” Rodriguez said.

Crews said they’re trucking about 10,000 sandbags over from Carmel Valley because there’s not enough here to protect this neighborhood. The American Red Cross said it’s planning to fees these crews who’ve been out here for hour.