SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. — At least 20 people have been lost to the recent severe flooding and damage brought on by atmospheric rivers across California, according to Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Five of those deaths happened in Sacramento County.
A Sacramento County spokesperson said three people were found dead after the New Year's Eve storms, and two unhoused residents faced trees falling on their tents. All five have since been identified.
People lost in Sacramento County to the recent severe weather include:
1. Steven Sampson, 45, from McAlester, Oklahoma: Sampson’s body was found the morning of New Year's Day in a car off Dillard Road near Highway 99. Officials said they discovered the vehicle by helicopter and a boat was sent out to recover his body.
2. Mei Keng Lam, 57, of San Leandro: Lam’s body was found the morning of Jan. 4 as officers were near Dillard Road to recover other vehicles. Lam’s body wasn’t inside a vehicle, but she was found about 2,000 feet off the road.
3. Katherine Martinez, 61, of Orland: Martinez’s body was found the evening of Jan. 4 inside a submerged vehicle on New Hope Road in Galt. Her family told ABC10 they found her vehicle themselves and notified law enforcement.
The family said she went to help her son after he got stuck in the mud on a motorcycle New Year's Day,.
"She told my nephew that she was stuck in the water, and then her phone went dead," brother-in-law Chris Martinez told ABC10.
Martinez said 911 was immediately called, but answers didn't come until three days later. That's when the family said her car was found along New Hope Road in Galt. It was in a ditch in high water.
4. Rebekah Rohde, 40: Rohde's body was found the night of Jan. 7 on north 5th Street, south of the American River. First responders were called to the levee around 6:45 p.m. that day for a report of a traumatic injury after a tree fell onto her tent. Rohde was taken to the hospital where she later died.
5. Steven Sorensen, 61: Sorensen's body was found Jan. 8 on Roseville Road near Tri Stations Road in North Highlands. A tree was also found to have fallen onto his tent.
WATCH MORE: California Storms | San Joaquin County residents say $2.5 million drainage system failed
