Diocese of Northern California
Paula Schaap, communications director for the Diocese of Northern California, reports for the diocese’s website:
It may signal the end of a long, hard drought for California, but the storm that blew in the weekend after New Year’s also brought flooding and misery, especially for those with no shelter.
With the Russian River near Healdsburg cresting at close to 20 feet in one day on Sunday, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — 23 feet is considered flood stage — people who call the bank of the river home had to be moved quickly to safer areas.
But St. Paul’s, Healdsburg, was ready for the influx of homeless people set adrift again by the rising waters. And they did it by marshalling the resources of an entire community.