Not a Happy New Year Yet
Dec. 31st, 2005 06:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lsandersonResidents Flee Heavy Floods in Northern California
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 6:55 p.m. ET
By SARAH KERSHAW
HEALDSBURG, Calif., Dec. 31 - A winter rainstorm set off severe flooding across Northern California on Saturday, touching off mudslides and sending residents fleeing for shelter.
Two cresting rivers threatened to inundate tens of thousands of acres of farmland, including areas of the state's wine country, officials said.
In Napa County, southeast of here, officials said flooding from the Napa River had reached record stages in St. Helena, where streets were inundated and about 90 homes were evacuated. No serious injuries or deaths were reported there as of Saturday morning, but officials said the worst was yet to come.
Here in Sonoma County, the Russian River had already surpassed its flood stage of 32 feet, and officials said it was expected to reach a much more disastrous crest after a second storm hits on Sunday.
"It's a mess," said Ajayi Johnson, 28. He said his 55-year-old mother was trapped in her home in Santa Rosa, south of here, after a mudslide plunged a large tree into the house. Mr. Johnson said his mother, Lloydie Terry, was hospitalized with a broken leg.
"It's horrible," he said.
David's family lives in Riverside.Oops, bad headline. Already fixed on the Times site.
