Heavy rain and high tides caused flooding in parts of Northern California on Saturday, prompting road closures and rescues of people trapped in cars, authorities said.
In the Marin County area, roadways through a 15-mile (24-kilometer) stretch from the Sausalito area to San Rafael were flooded after a downpour coincided with record-breaking “King Tides,” Marin County Sheriff’s Sgt. Michael Dobbins said.
“There is a lot of water in the roadways,” Dobbins said, adding that the tides were reportedly the highest in more than two decades.
Dobbins said, “Along with heavy rains, it just created the perfect storm for flooding on the streets.”
Authorities were called to assist when cars got stuck in water as high as 3 and 4 feet (1.1 and 1.2 meters), Dobbins said.
Officials in communities north of San Francisco asked people to stay home until waters recede. Some people kayaked along swamped streets, while others waded through water above their knees.
The National Weather Service had a flood warning in place for the San Francisco area until 2 p.m. Saturday and an advisory until 2 p.m. Sunday, the report said. It also said repeated rounds of rain were expected throughout California on Sunday and Monday.
To the south, in Santa Barbara County, roads were closed due to flooding and a key highway was blocked near Goleta due to a series of mudslides. The county sheriff’s office said a man died after he was swept into a creek during the storm.
The report described King Tides as occurring when the sun, moon and Earth are in alignment and the moon is in its closest position to Earth, creating a stronger gravitational pull.