About 800 people suing Santa Cruz and Monterey County and other agencies after the levee breach in Pajaro

PAJARO, Calif. (KION) - About 800 people in Pajaro have come together to sue the county after the flooding there. This is the second time a lawsuit like this has occurred, the first time was in 1995 when two people died in the flooding.

Lorina Mohammed who lives in Pajaro recalls the time when she and her family had to evacuate when the levee broke last year.

"I hear that this winter might be worse. And so we're scared that we might get flooded again," Mohammed said. "So, if that were to happen, we wouldn't be able to fix the house like we did last time because we had to come out of pocket."

Now, Mohammed along with about 800 people is suing the county and other agencies.

"The county first can be, responsible and that there can be changes made on the levee so that this doesn't happen again," said Mohammed.

This 64-page lawsuit filed on Dec. 22, 2023 holds the names of over 700 plaintiffs claiming Monterey and Santa Cruz counties and Caltrans are responsible for the Pajaro Levee breach causing thousands of dollars worth of damage.

The document recalls past events when the flooding happened dating back to the 1800s, 1938, 1995, and in 2023

Jesus Ibarra who lives in Pajaro remembers the deadly flooding of 1995 happened. Ibarra hopes this lawsuit will stop history from repeating itself.

“I care about my house. People care about their homes, even though people are renting, people still need help," said Ibarra.

The document states the flooding left dangerous conditions for public property, saying “debris upon and across plaintiffs’ properties causing injury to plaintiffs and their property."

Lorina recalls having to live at the fairgrounds with her family and is hoping for one thing.

"Everybody has the same hopes that they can get reimbursed for the money that they lost, the things that they lost, and then do prevention so that if this happens in the future, it won't be so devastating," said Mohammed.

The document does state that about 3,000 people who live in Pajaro, most of them are undocumented immigrants and living in poverty, and that the town of Pajaro is a low-income farming community who are vulnerable to flooding.

KION reached out to both counties and Caltrans and all three agencies declined to comment due to pending litigation.