People living on Ralph Lane begin cleanup process after one day after houses flood

MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif.- UPDATE ON MARCH 7, 2024 AT 6:33 PM- People living along Ralph Lane are picking up the pieces after more than 30 homes flooded and multiple people had to be rescued.

" I was in my house and I opened the door and water came into the house, Jesus Robles who lives on Ralph Lane said.

Water gushing into their homes in a matter of seconds.

People had to drag furniture out of their homes and it is piling up in their yards.

The County and residents along Ralph Lane had no idea of the extent of the damage until the water level dropped.

Jesus Ceja said he nearly lost everything.

"There is a lot of damage in the houses," Ceja said. "Out of 100% and 85% loss, of our appliances, furniture, tables, everything is lost."

Patsy H. Gasca who is the disaster program manager for the American Red Cross said that at least three families have requested services

"The teams been out since yesterday when the water broke out," Gasca said. "It is for the folks in the low lying areas."

Homes have been red tagged and some people say it might take up to three months for them to get back into their homes.

Elizabeth Baltazar says she is helping out her friends who were unable to cleanup.

"There is like 10 people here helping, there is more in the back," Baltazar said. "It is full of mud and it's heavy because of the water because it is slippery."

Families told KION that some of them several of them will relocate.

The American Red Cross and County of Monterey are still assessing the damage of the homes. The temporary evacuation point is still open Pruendale Library.

Original Story

The County of Monterey have set up a temporary evacuation point in North Monterey County after 20 to 30 homes on Ralph Lane are currently flooded in Monterey County.

Kelsey Scanlon from the County of Monterey Office of Emergency Management said that there is water up to the window sills along Ralph Lane.

County officials have set up at the Prunedale Library on 17822 Moro Road which will stay open until 7 p.m.

Jesus Ceja who lives on Ralph Lane said the flooding happened in an instant

"We go to the backyard and the fence just came down, just came down with water," Ceja said. "We couldn't stop anything, the water went inside the house and our appliances were floating."

County officials said that this was a freakish event.

People who live along Ralph Lane said this is the second time they have seen flooding in the last five years.

County officials also said they are working on getting people who live on Ralph Lane using MST buses.

Scanlon said the local stream inundated near the area is overwhelmed.

Scanlon said that there were half a dozen rescues and cars have been submerged.

This article will be updated