The Latest: California levee breach plugged

11:10 p.m., Monday, February 20

Authorities have stopped a leak in a levee in California's Central Valley but about 500 people remain under evacuation orders until the area is deemed safe.

There are no immediate reports of damage or injuries but a flash flood warning remains in effect.

The levee on the San Joaquin River in San Joaquin County was breached Monday afternoon and repaired about five hours later.

The breach was near the town of Manteca and the evacuation area is mainly farming and ranch land.

Rivers and creeks in the Central Valley and around Northern California have been reaching flood levels as a series of storms continues to pound the region.

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9:15 p.m., Monday, February 20

About 500 people have been ordered to evacuate in California's Central Valley because of a levee break as the area endures yet another storm.

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8 p.m., Monday, February 20

Creeks and rivers are nearing flood stage in California as another rainstorm pounds the area, prompting evacuations and stranding several thousand people in a remote hamlet.

Mandatory evacuations were ordered Monday afternoon for areas of Monterey County as water rose in the Carmel, Salinas, and Big Sur rivers as well as some creeks.

In Lake County, northwest of Sacramento, about two mobile home parks and nearby houses were ordered evacuated because nearby Clear Lake was a foot above flood stage.

County Sheriff Brian Martin says about 100 homes were affected but more homes along the 75-mile lake shoreline could face evacuation orders if the water keeps rising — and more rain is on the way.

Martin also says about 2,000 people in the remote community of Spring Valley are trapped because one of two entrance roads washed away and mudslides closed the other. Authorities hope to use a temporary bridge to reopen it in the next few days.

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10:35 a.m., Monday, February 20

Forecasters say rainfall in San Francisco has already surpassed the normal annual amount for the wet season that begins in October.

National Weather Service forecaster Bob Benjamin said Monday that the city has logged 24.50 inches of rain since Oct. 1.

He says the average rainfall for the year ending Sept. 30 is 23.65 inches.

Downpours swelled creeks and rivers Monday throughout Northern California, threatening to cause even more flooding in the already soggy region.

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8:55 a.m., Monday, February 20

Rainfall totals for the last 24 hours were close to an inch in San Francisco. Santa Cruz County had logged 2.8 inches but could see up to 8 inches of rain before the storm passes. Marin County saw 2.3 inches of rain. Winds could reach 60 mph in the San Francisco Bay Area.