Read the transcript for this report below.
ELIZABETH ARAKELIAN, HOST: A waterway breach caused more flooding in parts of Tulare County on Sunday, leading to new evacuation orders for the communities of Alpaugh and Allensworth. As KVPR’s Soreath Hok reports, Tulare County Sheriff’s deputies went door-to-door to advise residents to leave.
SOREATH HOK: The evacuation order affects about 1,000 people in these two rural communities. On Sunday, 50 deputies spread out to notify residents, says Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux.
SHERIFF MIKE BOUDREAUX: We’re asking that everyone cooperate with these evacuations and evacuation warnings because they’re put in place for the protection of life.
HOK: Evacuees were directed to go to the Tipton Memorial Building, a temporary evacuation point. But many in Allensworth were reluctant to leave.
VALERIE JASSO GOROSPE: People are uncertain about the water.
HOK: That’s Valerie Jasso Gorospe with the nonprofit Allensworth Progressive Association.
JASSO GOROSPE: People want to stay and protect their property. They want to protect their animals.
HOK: Jasso Gorospe says residents are taking precautions and prepared to call 911. Their biggest request right now: more sandbags. Both Allensworth and Alpaugh sit at the shoreline of Tulare Lake, once the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi. The last time it reappeared during heavy precipitation was 1997.
