San Jose in recovery mode after flooding | CNN

Rescue crews steer a boat full of residents in a flooded San Jose, California, neighborhood on Tuesday, February 21. <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/21/us/san-jose-flood/index.html" target="_blank">One of Southern California's most powerful storms</a> in recent years has caused flooding, power outages and blackouts across the region.

Rescue crews steer a boat full of residents in a flooded San Jose, California, neighborhood on Tuesday, February 21. One of Southern California's most powerful storms in recent years has caused flooding, power outages and blackouts across the region.

Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP

Part of the shoulder and one lane of westbound Highway 50 gave way on February 21, near Pollock Pines after heavy rains in the area.

Rich Pedroncelli/AP

Signs block a road in Morgan Hill, which runs into the overflowing Coyote Creek, on February 21.

Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP

Residents walk down a flooded road in Salinas, California, on Monday, February 20.

Nic Coury/Monterey County Weekly/AP

People stop to watch water flow into the iconic Glory Hole spillway at the Monticello Dam on February 20, in Lake Berryessa. This is the first time in over a decade that water has been high enough to flow into the 72-foot diameter spillway.

Eric Risberg/AP

A member of Cal Fire, right, talks to workers on the Oroville Dam project in front of the main spillway in Oroville on February 20. Officials are keeping an eye on the dam after mandatory evacuations last week amid concerns an emergency spillway could fail and threaten communities.

Hector Amezcua/The Sacramento Bee/AP

Floodwaters cross over Interstate 5 at Williams, backing up traffic in both north and southbound lanes for hours on Saturday, February 18.

Randy Pench/AP

Tina Dry mops up water and mud that seeped into her family's diner, Kim's Country Cafe, after area storms brought flood-level water to the Colusa County town of Maxwell on February 18.

Andrew Seng/The Sacramento Bee/ AP

Barr Torrens plays in flooded neighborhood streets after a deluge of rain and runoff flooded much of Maxwell on February 18.

Andrew Seng/AP

A woman with her dog stops to look at a tree that crushed a car Saturday, February 18, in the Sherman Oaks section of Los Angeles.

Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP

Inspectors check out a sinkhole that formed in Los Angeles' Studio City neighborhood on February 18 after the severe storm hit.

Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP

A Los Angeles apartment building is damaged after a 75-foot-tall tree crashed into it on Friday, February 17.

MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images

A firefighter carries a woman after floodwaters engulfed her car on a street in Los Angeles' Sun Valley neighborhood on February 17.

David McNew/Getty Images

A bicyclist tries to maneuver through a flooded street in the Sun Valley area on February 17.

David McNew/Getty Images

Large waves pound the shore at El Porto in Manhattan Beach as storms slam the Los Angeles area on February 17.

MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images

A man attempts to board a bus on a flooded street near the Sun Valley area of Los Angeles on February 17.

David McNew/Getty Images

The downpour doesn't deter a pedestrian in Los Angeles on February 17.

FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images

Pacific Coast Highway is reduced to one lane at the California Incline after mud and other debris washed down from bluffs in Santa Monica on February 17.

Reed Saxon/AP

Severe storms pound California

Story highlights

The mandatory evacuation order now covers about 3,800 residents

Hundreds are still waiting to return home

CNN —

As the city of San Jose, California, continued to dry out, officials gave the green light Thursday for a number of residents to return home after major flooding this week.

An earlier mandatory evacuation that included 14,000 residents near a creek that appeared to have breached now only covers about 3,800 residents, said David Sykes, director of the emergency operations center.

That means nearly 1,100 structures are still under the mandatory evacuation order, down from 4,000, officials said. Sykes said the figures don’t include two additional areas recently cleared for re-entry.

San Jose officials said they are working to lower water levels in some flood units and identify homes that can be reoccupied.

“The goal here is to get as many residents back into their homes as possible, and as soon as possible,” said Sykes, who also is assistant city manager.

On Tuesday, residents scrambled to fortify their homes with sandbags, but it was too late for some. The flooding had submerged some southern San Jose homes.

“You were able to see the water coming but you couldn’t stop it. You feel so powerless,” resident Peter Miskin told CNN affiliate KGO.

Miskin and his partner, Gary Johnson, and a friend tried to save anything they could.

“It was so fast we managed to evacuate the dogs, medications and passports. Everything else stayed,” said Miskin.

KGO reported that hundreds of people were still waiting to return home after Coyote Creek dropped below flood stage.

The city of San Jose’s updates on flooding

Officials continued to pump waters back into the creek channel in the area of three mobile home parks, according to Assistant Fire Chief Robert Sapien.

“We can say at this time, we are pretty dry in all three parts,” Sapien said.

Asked by reporters where residents can dump contaminated trash, Sapien said the officials will deliver dumpsters to several areas on Friday. He urged residents to take caution when handling the trash and use gloves and frequently wash their hands.

“We’re going to ask that people presume that the flood waters were contaminated,” he said.

Sykes said officials are watching a storm expected for the weekend.

The National Weather Service is calling for showers from Saturday through Monday. But CNN meteorologist Judson Jones said any rainfall is still a concern because of receding floods water and the saturated ground.