7:25 pm ET, March 14, 2023
As 21,000 people are under evacuation orders or warnings, emergency repairs are underway along the banks of the Bajaro River.
From CNN’s Taylor Romine and Joe Sutton
(Haven Daily/AP)
Workers are making emergency repairs to the banks of the Bajaro River in Monterey County, California, as about 21,000 people are under evacuation orders or warnings, county officials said.
Contractors are filling gaps in the dam and have to go about 20 feet, said Shawnna Murray, senior water resources engineer for the Water Resources Agency.
Officials hope that the temporary fix will stabilize the gap, allowing water to drain at a slower rate, and that the work will be completed by the end of Tuesday or Wednesday. After this first repair is completed, the full repair of the embankment will take several additional weeks, he added.
An additional breach occurred near Highway 1 and flows out to sea, but the breach occurred naturally and helped keep flood levels down, Murray said.
(Jennifer Cain/AFP/Getty Images)
In Bajaro, about 2,000 people were evacuated with 239 rescues by boat or high-water vehicles, Monterey County Sheriff Tina Nieto said during a news conference. In Arroyo Seco, about 350 people were evacuated, with about 20 to 40 residents sheltering in place, the sheriff said.
