in 1955 (I wasn’t here then) the entire town flooded for miles – underwater for weeks. Then in 1986 the town right next to my town (you don’t know you’ve left one and gone into the other) flooded – houses underwater. Then in 1997 another close by town (same proximity) flooded – you can see some of the water in video bleow. We have three rivers intersecting in this area of the Big Valley (Sacramento). I’ve never been flooded but all of us live in a flood plane if you are at sea level or just above. LA and San Diego areas flood almost every year to some degree.
See story below – (I got to meet Rodeo later that year).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZ95S_NSDko&feature=related