A levee holding back the Truckee Canal in east Fernley burst early Saturday morning flooding an estimated 200 homes and stranding nearly 4,000 people without a way out and electricity.
A state of emergency is in effect in the community between Silver Springs and Reno in eastern Nevada.
The areas affected are Jenneys and Winnies lanes, Picetti Way and Picetti, Maria and Johns courts and surrounding streets.
An evacuation center has been set up at Fernley High School and evacuations are underway.
"Helicopters are flying overhead and dropping people back at the buses," for transport to the high school, Fernley Mayor Todd Cuttler told KTVN-News in Reno.