Story highlights Evacuations ordered in Northern California community over levee damage

Crews have stopped the breach, but evacuation order remains in place

San Francisco (CNN) About 500 residents of a Northern California community were under evacuation orders after a river levee became damaged amid rising water levels and pounding storms.

Crews were able to stop the breach on the river levee by 8:45 p.m. Monday, but the evacuation order remained in place, according to the San Joaquin County Office of Emergency Services.

The breach was found on the eastern side of the San Joaquin River, south of Manteca. The evacuation order was issued around 7:30 p.m., affecting areas mostly of farms and ranches.

Crews have since made "impressive progress on filling in the levee gap" but have retained the evacuation order to determine when it's "completely safe to return to the area," according to an update on the Manteca Fire Chief's Foundation Facebook page

Heavy rains pounded parts of Northern and central California through Monday, putting more than 14 million people under a flood warning or flash-flood watch.

Read More