Nearly 400 homes evacuated in Reno flooding; Monday worse
SPARKS, Nev. — A wet winter Sierra storm triggered mudslides closing parts of major highways north and west of Lake Tahoe, and shut down dozens of roads in the Reno-Sparks area where flooding forced the evacuation Sunday of hundreds of homes, with more rain on the way.
“This is a serious flood situation,” the National Weather Service said in a special flood statement late Sunday night. Flood warnings continue along much of the Sierra’s eastern front and western Nevada into Tuesday.
More than 1,000 residents voluntarily evacuated one south Reno neighbourhood where drainage ditches started overflowing Sunday afternoon as the Truckee River approached its highest level in more than a decade, Washoe County emergency officers said.
Nearly 400 dwellings remained evacuated late Sunday night and hundreds of people were expected to be housed overnight in emergency shelters at two high schools — one in Reno and one in Sparks, county spokeswoman Nancy Leuenhagen said.