LIVE UPDATES: Atmospheric river causing flooding, damage across Bay Area

Evacuation warnings have gone out for parts of Salinas, Prunedale and areas along the Carmel River, the Monterey County Sheriff's Office said Thursday afternoon.

Effective immediately, residents in zone C045-B are under an evacuation order due to flooding risks. This affects areas along Santa Rita Creek in Bolsa Knolls, Salinas, the Sheriff's Office said.

Residents of Prunedale in zone C040-B along Ralph Lane are also under an evacuation warning due to potential flooding.

Finally, residents along the Carmel River near Camp Steffani and Wawona roads as well as Lower Paso Hondo near Carmel Valley are under an evacuation warning. These are zones D057-C and D066-B.

Residents should be prepared to evacuate if the warning is upgraded to an order. Anyone who may need extra time getting out of the area is advised to evacuate as soon as possible as a precaution.

People can find out if they are in an area under an evacuation warning at https://protect.genasys.com/search.

With substantial rainfall overnight and throughout today, the San Lorenzo River rose quickly, prompting evacuation warnings from Santa Cruz County.

Rain fell about as fast and as hard as the San Lorenzo River was flowing Thursday.

Neighbors in Felton Grove got word from the county early in the morning that they were in an evacuation zone after waters rose several feet overnight. River Road was completely flooded in 2023 when storms overwhelmed the river.

And the community was ready to avoid getting caught in flood waters this time.

Across the Covered Bridge, evacuating was not as simple. Covered Bridge Equestrian Owner Tamara Boole was keeping an eye on water levels as well as the horses stabled here throughout the storm. Some of these stables back right up to the San Lorenzo. Evacuation plans are ready if needed, but Boole is hoping it doesn't get to that point.

"When you move them to different circumstances, you're taking them into things where they could call out and get nervous," Boole said. "Some don't handle the situations very well, so it's the last thing we really want to do."

The community has been through this before, and they're confident that they can make it through again.

The Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office says that all evacuation orders and warnings that were issued due to flood danger have been lifted.

This includes the following areas:
FEL-E008 Felton Grove
PAJ- E027-B (College Rd area)
PAJ-E026 (Holohan and Grimmer Rd area)
PAJ-E028 (Lakeview Rd area)

Residents in Gilroy woke up to a wet mess on Thursday morning, with heavy rain from an atmospheric river flooding streets.

Residents in Gilroy woke up to a wet mess on Thursday morning, with heavy rain from an atmospheric river flooding streets.

Some drivers still made their way through the water, which was up to the sidewalks near Wren and Ronan Avenue.

A good Samaritan geared up with rain boots and a rake and tried to clear storm drains. He says he's never seen Wren and Carla Way flood like this.

By daylight, city officials shut down Silva's Crossing around 7 a.m. Thursday morning because of serious flooding near Miller Avenue and Uvas Park Drive.

"When I went down a couple of minutes ago, a big log crossed the road and there's a huge log stuck that's coming down the hill so it's pretty major," Gilroy resident Ken Reynolds said.

Reynolds has lived in Gilroy for 14 years and says when heavy rain falls, it's common to see this road shut down.

"Our people have failed. It's like, really so your solution is to close the road, why don't you build it up or some kind of a crossing but no, they'd rather just close the road but no, they make it very inconvenient for the people who live on the west side," he said.

Meanwhile, Reynolds has bigger problems to worry about with a carpeted garage at his own house just minutes away.

"I have water in my garage and when that happens, it means the wind is coming in sideways and the rain is coming in and it's a pretty bad situation for me and my garage," he said. "I don't mind the inconvenience, it's water and we need the water."

The city of Gilroy has multiple warming centers set up during this storm.

Both the Gilroy Library and the Morgan Hill Library are open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday and Friday.

An overnight shelter is being set up at the Gilroy Armory at 8490 Wren Avenue. Shelter availability can be confirmed through the Here4You Hotline at 408-385-2400.