Story highlights Authorities knocked on doors in the middle of night, told people to leave

Mayor says residents should stay away from homes because floodwater is contaminated

(CNN) While floodwaters in the northern California city of San Jose were receding Wednesday, the mayor said they were contaminated and residents of 14,000 households ordered to evacuate should not yet return home.

The residences under the mandatory evacuation are near a creek that appears to have been breached, Mayor Sam Liccardo said. Tens of thousands of more homes are under voluntary evacuation notifications.

One resident slept in his car instead of going to a shelter.

"We woke up at 1:30 in the morning, cops knocked on the door of our apartment. My wife got the dog out of there and I parked in the parking lot. Yeah, I slept in the car," Santos Aguilar told CNN affiliate KGO.

Thousands ordered to #evacuate in #SanJose after flooding, some return home to assess the damage: https://t.co/jY2jOVls0Z — ABC7 News (@abc7newsbayarea) February 22, 2017

Another resident said the water rose fast.

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