California faces new 'atmospheric river' storm
STORY: Entire neighborhoods inundated by muddy, brown waters.
Streets once bustling, now eerily quiet.
This is Monterey County, California, after a levee on the Pajaro River failed late on Friday (March 14) night, flooding the area and forcing emergency evacuations into the morning.
By Monday (March 13), the evacuation warnings and orders were still in place for the county and other areas of California, as the state now prepares to face its 11th so-called "atmospheric river" of the season.
Some residents, however, have decided to stay put.
Among them were seasonal farmworkers, Maria Martinez and Frida Gonzalez.
Martinez says she does not want to leave because homes have been robbed in the area and there's been vandalism.
She wants the government to provide security, clean water and food for her children.
Staying put poses its own risks though.
On Sunday. (March 12), a man was rescued from an island in the Salinas River after his car was swept away in floodwater..
Dramatic footage - released by the California Highway Patrol - shows the victim being hoisted on a rope dangling from a helicopter.
Since December, California has been hit by ten atmospheric rivers.
They are categorized as airborne currents laden with dense tropical moisture from the ocean.
Meanwhile, most of New York state and New England were preparing on Monday for a powerful Nor'easter storm.
