GUERNEVILLE, Calif. >> California Gov. Gavin Newsom has declared an emergency for five northern counties after a heavy storm led to the worst flooding in 20 years in one county and the death of a man in another.

Newsom said today the emergency proclamation is for the counties of Amador, Glenn, Lake, Mendocino and Sonoma, where hundreds were marooned.

The governor says the emergency declaration directs state officials to immediately request federal assistance to help communities recover from flooding, mudslides and damage to critical infrastructure.

The Russian River in Sonoma County crested at more than 46 feet Wednesday night, flooding about 2,000 buildings.

More than 200 miles to the north, a man drowned in floodwaters while trying to reach his home, where three children were trapped.

The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that deputies were sent Wednesday night to a house in Ferndale, where the man was trying to walk to his home from a barn through up to 5 feet of water when he was carried away by the fast-moving current.

Authorities found his body today. His name has not been made public.

The office says three people tried to reach the man by driving a tractor through the floodwaters but the tractor stalled and they couldn’t get to him in time.

It says deputies in a boat rescued the three people from the tractor and the children from the home.

Elsewhere, the storms that scoured the western U.S. dumped heavy rain and snow. In Montana, the governor signed an emergency order to help keep up the supply of heating fuel.