Flooding on the Salinas River could cut off access to the Monterey Peninsula

Monterey County officials are bracing for flooding on the Salinas River that could cut off road access to the Monterey Peninsula starting Thursday afternoon.

“Some roads will be closed and you could get stuck on one side or the other,” Monterey County Sheriff Tina Nieto said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon.

Roads near the Salinas River that could be affected include State Highway 68, River Road, Reservation Road, Blanco Road, and possibly State Highway 1, officials said.

Evacuation orders are already in place for low-lying areas along the Salinas River, from North Highway 68 to the Pacific Ocean.

The river could flood as early as noon Thursday on Highway 68 in Spreckles and Highway 1 north of the Marina, according to the Monterey city government on Wednesday.

Routes may remain flooded until Sunday.

“All residents and workers are strongly encouraged to plan ahead,” the weather report said around 8 p.m. Wednesday. “Whoever is on the peninsula, when the flood occurs, will not be able to leave. Whoever is not on the peninsula will not be able to enter.”

County officials said they are confident the bridges will withstand the river’s flooding, but surface streets and low-lying areas are expected to be affected.

“Residents in both the peninsula and the Salinas area should expect a two to three day outage,” the county’s bulletin said. Residents are being urged to stay off the roads and postpone travel.

Evacuation maps for Monterey County are located at the address, and information from the county about the storm is located at the address.

For more information about the city of Monterey, visit monterey.org/stormcenter.