Fire crews rescued five people who were stranded in flooding at a homeless encampment along a San Jose creek on Tuesday after a series of robust storms drenched Northern California.

In the San Joaquin Valley, farmers used their tractors and other equipment to help shore up an endangered levee along the San Joaquin River.

The dramatic actions were prompted by the latest in a series of "atmospheric rivers" of moisture that have saturated the once-drought-stricken region in recent weeks.

@SJFD handling major flooding avoid the area Senter and Phelan pic.twitter.com/5nREMAUBZZ

— San Jose Fire Dept. (@SJFD) February 21, 2017

The downpours swelled waterways to flood levels and left about half the state under flood, wind and snow advisories.

The storm system began to weaken Tuesday after dumping more than a half-inch of rain in the San Joaquin Valley, over an inch in San Francisco, and more than 5 inches in the mountains above Big Sur in the past 24 hours, the National Weather Service reported.

Dry weather was expected to return Wednesday.

In San Jose, the fire department was called to Coyote Creek amid reports of as many as 40 people being stranded at the homeless encampment.

San Jose broke a daily rainfall record yesterday(Feb 20). 1.87" of rain fell, breaking the previous record of 0.98" set in 1914! #cawx #ksjc

— NWS Bay Area (@NWSBayArea) February 21, 2017

That number turned out to be inaccurate and everyone was located, fire Capt. Mitch Matlow said.

The conditions of the five people rescued were not immediately available.

In the San Joaquin Valley, a flash flood warning remained in effect following a levee break along the San Joaquin River that prompted an evacuation order for about 500 people living mainly in ranch and farmland areas near Manteca.

"When the water gets that high and more water is coming, there is just too much pressure and levees can break," said Tim Daly, a spokesman with the San Joaquin County Office of Emergency Services.

Dino Warda of Manteca told KCRA-TV that some farmers took their tractors and other equipment to the levee to help shore it up.

In Monterey County, people living along a section of the Carmel River were told to leave, as were those in a neighborhood of Salinas near Santa Rita Creek.

In Lake County, northwest of Sacramento, about 100 homes in two mobile home parks and nearby streets were evacuated when nearby Clear Lake rose a foot above flood stage.

2/21@10:41 am
Showers continue across #BayArea adding to already saturated/flooded grounds.
Don't drive thru flooded areas!#cawx #CAFlood pic.twitter.com/tUPBg4jDC0

— NWS Bay Area (@NWSBayArea) February 21, 2017

"It's very serious," county Sheriff Brian Martin said of the potential for flooding. "There's going to be widespread property damage ... our ground's been saturated."

No injuries were reported.

The Carmel River, which has flooded several times in the past month, and the Salinas River were also expected to approach flood levels.

At the Don Pedro reservoir, which captures water from the Tuolumne River, operators opened a spillway for the first time in 20 years.

Here is a map showing locations of rock/mud slides & debris flows. To see current road closures https://t.co/gCrqlfeGez #cawx #CAflood pic.twitter.com/ik1a2nXKE4

— NWS Bay Area (@NWSBayArea) February 21, 2017

In the Sierra Nevada, a portion of Highway 50 — a main route to Lake Tahoe — was in danger of collapsing after the shoulder gave way following heavy storms, the California Highway Patrol reported. Numerous mudslides have blocked the road for days at a time in recent weeks.

The water level kept falling at Oroville Dam, where a damaged spillway had raised major flood concerns and prompted the evacuation of 188,000 people a week ago.