More rain is on the way for weather-beaten California, where storms have flooded communities and left at least 19 dead - CNN

CNN  — 

Storm-battered California – inactive reeling from weeks of deadly flooding, mudslides and rescues – is being deed with much rainfall implicit the weekend.

An unrelenting drawstring of atmospheric rivers – long, constrictive regions successful the ambiance that tin transportation moisture thousands of miles – person turned communities into lakes, crippled highways and prompted thousands of evacuations, including earlier this week. At slightest 19 radical person died arsenic a effect of the storms.

Two much are pummeling the authorities this weekend.

“This isn’t over; we indispensable stay vigilant. Stay safe, marque the indispensable preparations, and bounds non-essential travel,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said successful a statement. “Floods, landslides, and storms don’t attraction who you are oregon wherever you unrecorded – it’ll deed you conscionable the same. We person mislaid excessively overmuch – excessively galore radical to these storms and successful these waters.”

More than 8 cardinal radical were nether flood watches Saturday nighttime crossed overmuch of California’s cardinal coastline, arsenic good arsenic the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys.

A marginal hazard of excessive rainfall is successful spot on the California seashore from San Francisco down done San Diego, arsenic good arsenic the upland ranges of confederate California, wherever up to 2 inches of further rainfall could pb to flooding and mudslides, the National Weather Service said.

Residents successful Monterey County, connected California’s Central Coast, were ordered to evacuate low-lying areas of the Carmel River Saturday afternoon. Sacramento County officials ordered residents of the Wilton area to fly – erstwhile again – owed to an anticipated emergence successful the Cosumnes River.

“People are fatigued astir evacuation orders. People are fatigued by seeing those Caltrans signs saying ‘detour’ – they’re conscionable fatigued generally,” Newsom said, speaking from a flood evacuation structure astatine the Merced County Fairgrounds.

President Joe Biden connected Saturday approved California’s petition for a catastrophe declaration, freeing up national assistance to supplement betterment efforts successful areas of the authorities affected by storms, flooding and mudslides since December 27, the White House said.

“This national assistance is cardinal to betterment efforts truthful Californians tin get backmost connected their feet faster,” Newsom said successful a tweet thanking Biden for approving the declaration.

The archetypal strategy of the play arrived astatine California’s seashore Saturday day and was expected to determination inland, bringing dense rainfall crossed the authorities “as different surge of Pacific moisture streams up of the main acold front,” the National Weather Service said.

Lighter rainfall is expected to proceed Sunday morning, earlier different “ramp-up” precocious Sunday into aboriginal Monday up of a 2nd system, the upwind work said.

The caller circular of dense rainfall comes aft galore areas already saw 50% to 70% of the magnitude of precipitation that they would usually get successful a full twelvemonth successful 16 days.

San Francisco has recorded 1 of its apical 15 wettest winters connected record.

Newsom said it was conscionable weeks agone that authorities successful Southern California extended a drought exigency to millions of residents. Now, the authorities is inundated with rain.

“By immoderate estimates 22 to 25 trillion gallons of h2o person fallen implicit the people past 16-17 days – the stacking of these atmospheric rivers the likes of which we’ve not experienced successful our lifetimes,” the politician said. “The world is this is conscionable the eighth of what we expect volition beryllium 9 atmospheric rivers.”

Though this weekend’s rainfall totals volition beryllium little than successful erstwhile storms, the threshold for flooding is overmuch little present due to the fact that the crushed is excessively saturated to sorb immoderate much h2o successful galore areas.

“The challenges volition contiguous themselves implicit the people of the adjacent fewer days alternatively acutely, peculiarly due to the fact that everything’s saturated, peculiarly due to the fact that the grounds are overwhelmed.” Newsom said. “What whitethorn look little important successful presumption of the rainfall whitethorn really beryllium much important successful presumption of the impacts connected the crushed and the flooding and the debris flow.”

Widespread rainfall totals done Monday volition scope betwixt 2 to 3 inches on the seashore and interior valleys, with 4 to 6 inches imaginable for the San Francisco Bay country and the adjacent Santa Cruz and Santa Lucia mountains. This volition apt pb to a fewer instances of flooding arsenic good arsenic mud, stone and landslides.

River flooding is besides a large concern, peculiarly astir the Russian River successful Northern California and the Salinas River adjacent Monterey.

Monterey County officials warned this week that flooding from the rising Salinas River could crook the country into an land and chopped it disconnected from indispensable services.

To the east, successful Merced County, crews rushed to place rocks successful the Bear Creek country up of the storm’s arrival, disquieted that high-water conditions could proceed to erode the levee and yet pb to levee nonaccomplishment successful the downtown country of Merced.

Rescuers resumed their hunt for 5-year-old Kyle Doan, who was pulled from his mother’s hands by rushing floodwater connected Monday, aft it was hampered Saturday by the storm, the San Luis Obispo Sheriff’s Department said.

Water and upwind conditions improved capable Sunday day to let the hunt to continue. Ongoing monitoring of the river, arsenic good arsenic the surrounding floodwater successful San Miguel, person indicated a driblet successful h2o levels and volition fto the unit to hunt caller areas, the sheriff’s section said.

The kid and his parent were connected the mode to schoolhouse Monday erstwhile floodwater overwhelmed their SUV. The parent managed to region Kyle from his car spot and held onto him but their hands slipped and they were separated.

The parent was aboriginal pulled safely retired of the water. But Kyle has not been found.

Members of the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office Dive Team, the Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team, and California Highway Patrol aerial units were looking for the boy. Troops from the National Guard were antecedently progressive with the hunt but person since been released from the mission.