LOS ANGELES _ Days of torrential rain stemming from a strong winter storm that's hammered Sonoma County has swelled the Russian River past flood stage, sending water spilling over its banks and inundating nearby communities, authorities said Wednesday.
Sonoma County officials ordered people living in about two dozen areas near the river to evacuate Tuesday in preparation for what could be the worst flood in the region in more than 20 years. Officials staffed extra deputies and dispatchers to help with evacuations and field emergency calls, while two boats were deployed to the lower Russian River to get people out.
The river was forecast to exceed flood stage _ 32 feet _ at 6 p.m. Tuesday. By early Wednesday the river had swollen to 40.5 feet, essentially turning the town of Guerneville into an island.
The major roads in and out of the community are completely flooded. Officials said those who chose to stay in their homes could be stuck there for days.
The pounding rain had stopped in Sonoma County before the sun rose on Wednesday after a low-pressure system shifted the atmospheric river-fueled storm out of the region, said Roger Gass, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in the Bay Area.
"The atmospheric river was a hose of really deep moisture pointed right at Northern California that settled over Sonoma County," he said. "It's created a lot of problems."
Gass said the storm has created the heaviest rainfall the region has received all winter.
Some areas north of the river got nearly 10 inches of rain over the course of two days. Venado, a community north of Guerneville, had received nearly 2 feet of rain in 48 hours by Tuesday.
"A lot of the rainfall in that basin flows right into the Russian River," Gass said.
While the rain has stopped, the Russian River will continue to rise throughout the day as tributaries carrying water from other areas empty into the river.
Forecasters predict the waterway, which cuts through several Sonoma County communities, will reach its highest level at 46.1 feet _ more than 14 feet above flood stage _ late Wednesday before slowly receding on Thursday.
The Russian River has seen numerous serious floods during wet years.
One of the worst in Guerneville was in 1995 when the river crested at about 48 feet _ 16 feet above flood stage _ in a situation that caught many in the community off guard. People fled the region in small boats, floating past debris as they sought higher ground, while others boarded huge National Guard transport trucks that drove through the floodwater to rescue people from homes.
