Town in California becomes an island amid heavy flooding
Guerneville is only accessible by boat after the Russian River burst its banks.
Flood waters have inundated a California town north of San Francisco and that the community is now only accessible by boats after a rain-swollen river overflowed its banks.
The Sonoma Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that Guerneville is “officially an island” because all roads leading to it are covered by water.
Residents of the town with 4,500 people and two dozen other communities along the Russian River were ordered to evacuate.
The National Weather Service says the Russian River in Sonoma County topped 32 feet and it that it could crest at more than 46 feet by Wednesday night.
The river has repeatedly flooded following heavy rains, but this marks the highest level that its waters have risen in more than two decades.
Several other Northern California creeks and rivers are expected to crest before the storm eases out of the region.
Heavy snow has prompted the closure of several mountain roads in the Sierra Nevada.
