Flash Flooding Sends River of Mud Down Tuolumne County Streets
Torrential rain over the past month has caused significant flooding incidents throughout Northern California, but the most recent storm may have seen the worst incident of flooding yet.
Tuolumne County, located just north of Yosemite National Park, was hit hard with a rainstorm this week that caused a flash flood on populated streets in the area. Many homes and businesses were flooded in Sonora, so much so that the 911 dispatch telephone line was down during the incident.
At one point, the flooding through the streets of Sonora were so bad that a flash flood of rainwater and mud were sent pummeling down a street:
Sonora Creek, which runs through downtown Sonora, rose so quick that workers at nearby businesses barely had enough time to escape the wall of mud and water. Following the storm, those businesses damaged by the extreme weather could receive federal financial assistance to help offset damages.
The Tuolumne County Sheriff was inundated with emergency responses at the scene and were even able to take some stunning photos of the flash flood event:
The flash flood caught on video by the Sheriff’s office wasn’t the only flooding event in the area that day. Other videos emerged showing a chaotic scene in the small Eastern Sierra Community:
Luckily, no one seems to be significantly injured in the flooding but the town will now have many months of cleanup to return to normal.