Californians rescued from car caught in flood water as state sees ‘historic’ rainfall totals

This is the dramatic moment when California firefighters rescued a group of people from a car trapped in flood waters.

The clip shared by the Orange County Fire Authority showed an adult seated on a rescued car and four adults in a rescued car while waiting at an exit off Highway 55.

A total of five people were rescued and transported from the Tustin crime scene.

Rescue comes as California continued to experience severe weather, including some of the heaviest rainfall the Golden State has had in nearly 200 years.

San Francisco has been hit with the second heaviest rains in 174 years – since 1849.

The rescuers pulled the people out of the broken-down cars late on Saturday evening

In video from Saturday’s rescue, crews from the Tustin City Fire Department and Orange County Fire Department can be seen rowing in a lifeboat to stranded vehicles.

The group of rescuers pulls passengers into the boat as it rains.

‘OCFA Technical Rescue Truck FF’s rowed out a lifeboat to take 3 of them to safety after 2 got out alone. All 5 were assessed by FFPMs and unharmed,” the Orange County Fire Authority said in a tweet.

Four of the people were taken to their nearby home in an ambulance.

Orange County officials thanked the California Highway Patrol and the California Department of Transportation for their help in assisting.

While rain has been welcomed in SoCal after months of drought-like conditions, the weather has also caused major problems across the country, particularly in Northern California.

One person was rescued from the roof of a car while four others were pulled from a submerged vehicle

The group of rescuers took the people to safety in a lifeboat

The cars got stuck on an off-ramp to Highway 55 in Orange County, California

Downtown San Francisco recorded its second wettest single day in history on Saturday after measuring 5.46 inches of rain.

“This makes it the second wettest day in more than 170 years of records at that location, just 0.08 minutes shy of the 1st place (11/5/1994) of 5.54,” said the National Weather Service.

Rainfall from Friday through Saturday accounted for nearly 47 percent of San Francisco’s total rainfall in December.

Highway 101, which connects San Francisco to the Peninsula, was closed for most of the day Saturday due to flooding.

Oakland reported its wettest day on Sunday with 4.75 inches of rain in a 24-hour period.

The previous record was set in January 1982, according to the National Weather Service.

Stunning video from Sacramento County Sunday morning showed drivers attempting to fumble through heavy water on roads and freeways.

One clip shows a rescuer standing on top of a fully submerged vehicle. Helicopters fly overhead to search for stranded cars and people.

The rains contributed to overflowing of rivers, including the Cosumnes and Mokelumne, in the Sacramento area.

As of Saturday night, officials said the Cosumnes River alone is expected to reach 15.5 feet.

As of Sunday morning, Highway 99 was closed due to ongoing flooding and river flooding.

‘SR-99 North and South will be closed with no estimated time of opening due to flooding from the Cosumnes River. Avoid traveling near the surrounding areas of Wilton, Herald and the outlying Galt region,” the National Weather Service said.

Local officials declared a state of emergency and urged residents to consider evacuation.

Evacuations have also been ordered for several areas in Northern California, including El Dorado County and Santa Cruz County.

In a community east of San Francisco, local police came to the rescue of more than a dozen elderly people in need of assistance.

San Ramon Police Lieutenant Tami Williams said officers deployed armored vehicles to assist 13 “elderly citizens who needed assistance with evacuations due to flooding.”

Officials have urged drivers to turn back if they encounter flooded waters.

Firefighters from Sacramento this weekend rescued youngsters from tree branches after being trapped while driving through flood water.

Sunday morning’s storm also knocked out power to more than 179,000 homes in California, according to poweroutage.us.

The situation is far from over either.

“We are facing an extended wet pattern where these saturated soils will not have time to truly dry out,” the National Weather Service said.

“The only pause in rain we get will happen on January 1, but then it rains more on January 2-5, and a third moderate-atmosphere river flows into our region around January 4-5.”

The Category 3 atmospheric flow that hit California’s central coast earlier this week flooded Bay Area communities well into Sunday.

The National Weather Service issued a flood warning for the Bay Area that began Tuesday morning.

A Northern California meteorologist described the system as a “parade of storms.”