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Devastating images of Monterey County after the Pajaro River levee break

As communities are evacuated, officials say it may take months before some homes are fit to live in again.

An aerial photograph shows a trash-filled car engulfed in floodwaters in Pajaro, California on Saturday, March 11, 2023. Residents were forced to evacuate in the middle of the night after an atmospheric river surge broke the the Pajaro Levee and sent flood waters flowing into the community. | Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images | Source: AFP via Getty Images

Flooded roads and homes. Stranded cars. Evacuations. The deployment of the California National Guard.

These are some of the scenes from Monterey County this weekend and Monday, following an atmospheric river surge on Saturday that broke a Pajaro River levee and sent flood waters rushing into communities as far north as Watsonville and as far south as San Ardo.

Today, schools are closed and communities are reeling. Meanwhile, another atmospheric river is forecast to hit California on Tuesday.

Emergency Information for Monterey County, including an up-to-date evacuation map, can be found here.

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An aerial photograph shows vehicles and homes engulfed by floodwaters in Pajaro, California, on Saturday, March 11, 2023. | Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images | Source: AFP via Getty Images
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Sophie Bearman can be reached at [email protected]

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