County leaders in both Monterey and Santa Cruz urge people in affected areas to prepare for flooding threat
PAJARO, Calif. (KION-TV) In a joint news conference on Sunday afternoon, county leaders urged people in the Pajaro Community and other impacted areas to prepare for the real possibility of flooding.
"We're here today to underscore the seriousness of what both of our counties maybe facing in Santa Cruz County and Monterey County. We're living under the protection of an antiquated levee system. We need everybody in both counties to take this storm seriously, said Santa Cruz Supervisor Zach Friend.
County leaders say there is a very good probability that rivers will swell including the River, Big Sur and Carmel River.
"We need to understand that this is a very serious event with maybe the kind of flooding that we haven't seen here in the last generation," said Friend.
Sheriff Tina Nieto reiterated the massage and asked people in low-lying areas to prepare for the worst possible scenario.
Nieto also anticipates evacuation orders to be a strong possibility in Monterey County. While these were only advisories she made the distinctions between a warning and an order for people who may not want to listen to the notifications.
"What an order is - is when we're telling you to get out. At that point, for an order obviously, this is when your property is in danger. Your life is in danger if you chose to stay. Obviously, when we get an order that is a time where law enforcement can come in and arrest you. But I got to tell you, we don't do that to comin and arrest you. we do that because we don't want you to lose your life," said Nieto.
