Sacramento, California California has been battered by storms for more than two weeks, and another is expected for the holiday weekend. Since late December, the constant rain and its effects—flooded homes, destroyed automobiles, felled power lines, and more—have killed at least 19 people and impacted the lives of millions more.
Almost none of the storms, according to experts, would have been called disastrous on their own, but the relentless beating has damaged California's terrain. Mudslides are more likely to occur on soil that is presently struggling to retain water. Trees have collapsed as a result of recent severe winds. Additionally, the constant rain has converted once-tame rivers into raging floods.
Peninsula of Monterey
The peninsula is the distinctive coastal outcrop of Monterey County. It is located about 100 miles south of San Francisco, has 50,000 residents, and is a popular tourist attraction that is home to the cities of Carmel, Monterey, Pacific Grove, and Pebble Beach.
The peninsula has being closely monitored as storms continue to batter the Central Coast. Through Sunday night, the region can expect thunderstorms and between a half and one inch of rain, with rain continuing into Monday.
The Salinas Valley, located inland from the peninsula, has seen significant flooding, and the county continues to have ongoing evacuation orders for several locations between the Salinas and Carmel rivers. According to Maia Carroll, the Monterey County's communications coordinator, more than 100 individuals were staying in evacuation shelters on Saturday. Since the start of the flooding last Monday, several residents have evacuated their homes.
On Sunday, there were no evacuation orders for the Monterey Peninsula, but authorities in the whole county remained on high alert in case the major rivers flooded again.
The worries brought back memories of 1995, when the peninsula's highways were totally blocked off from the rest of the county due to flooding. Highways 1 and 68, the primary entrances to the area, are vulnerable to floods if the Salinas River overflows.
Mountains in Santa Cruz
Concerns in the hard-hit Santa Cruz County, a coastal region south of San Jose, include flooding in the lowlands, a rising tide at the coast, and falling trees, but Dave Reid, director of the Santa Cruz County Office of Response, Recovery & Resilience, noted that the mountains were especially vulnerable to the effects of additional rain.
In mountainous areas, he said, "the challenge for us right now is that any quantity of rain, even modest rains, might bring road collapses, landslides." Since the land has already absorbed so much rain over the past few weeks, it is unable to absorb much more, increasing the risk of mudslides and damaged roadways.
In the Santa Cruz Mountains, rain was predicted throughout the remainder of Sunday and into Monday morning, with a chance of showers extending into Monday afternoon.
Daniel DeLong's main worries are falling trees and mudslides.
The latest storms, according to DeLong, 56, a retired firefighter who lives in Ben Lomond, California, a small town in the Santa Cruz Mountains, were "far more extreme" than anything he has seen in the three decades he has been there. On acres of land covered in soaring Douglas firs and Redwoods, his family lives.
DeLong remarked, "They could just come down and cut your house in half."
In the previous two weeks, a few smaller trees had fallen on his land, but they didn't cause any significant harm.
His home is less susceptible to mudslides and falling rocks, but the neighbourhood has seen road closures due to mudslides. DeLong claimed that if more roads failed, his family might become stranded on their land.
Sierra Nevada region/Lake Tahoe
In the previous week, the Sierra Nevada received more than 8 feet of snow. Mountain communities in the Lake Tahoe region are designed to weather severe winter storms and have a fleet of snow removal vehicles and avalanche experts on hand. On a holiday weekend, though, when that much snow falls and thousands of people arrive seeking a winter escape in the Tahoe region, one of the most well-liked locations for downhill skiing in the nation, issues worsen.
On Sunday morning, congested traffic slowly climbed two-lane highways in the direction of the ski resorts to the north of Lake Tahoe. The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning on Sunday, predicting 8 to 18 more inches of snow to fall by Tuesday along with wind gusts of up to 80 mph on exposed ridge tops in the Sierra.
On Monday, when more snowfall was anticipated to disrupt road conditions, California Department of Transportation officials pleaded with motorists to exercise patient as they returned home across high mountain passes. Gilbert Mohtes-Chan, a public information officer for Caltrans District 3, warned of prolonged delays and slow moving traffic.
Mohtes-Chan claimed that the roads were "crazy" with numerous spinouts and accidents as Interstate 80 and Highway 50 encountered delays and sporadic closures on Saturday due to heavy snowfall. People leapt out of their automobiles to play in the snow as they were stalled in traffic, disregarding the fact that they were on a major road where big snowploughs and heavy machinery needed access. Mohtes-Chan stated, "People need to slow down and be patient, and they'll get to their destination.
On the plus side, the snowpack currently contains as much water as it did during some of the worst winters in recent memory. The Sierra is effectively a sizable reservoir for the entire state of California; on average, the snowpack in the Sierra provides 30% of the state's water; in the spring, snowmelt ensures that water continues to flow when the weather becomes dry.
County of Los Angeles
A record-breaking 1.8 inches of rain fell in Downtown Los Angeles on Saturday. The storm only caused little damage to the city and its environs: a tree downed numerous automobiles, while a mudslide's rock and other debris stopped traffic. Up to 6 inches of water might accumulate in streets due to tidal surges near the beach, especially in Long Beach. Additionally, the sinkhole that swallowed two vehicles last week in the Chatsworth district of north Los Angeles has only grown larger, now spanning almost the full width of the road.
Los Angeles County Public Works director Mark Pestrella summarised the issue as "10,000 tiny cuts across the county." However, they all add up. He said that fixing the road system's sinkholes and cracked pavement would cost close to $200 million.
Still, according to Capt. Sheila Kelliher-Berkoh of the Los Angeles County Fire Department, Los Angeles has fared significantly better than other regions of the state. We certainly have our share of problems, but things could be worse, she noted.
The Los Angeles River, according to Kelliher-Berkoh, is one of the department's top concerns. The river, which was frequently merely a strip of dry concrete cutting through the centre of the city to the south, she added, turned into a 10-foot-deep torrent during the rains. Children and homeless people who are camped close to the banks are especially vulnerable to this flow since they don't realise how strong it is.
The County Fire Department is also keeping a careful eye on regions that have recently been hit by wildfires since burn scar areas have loose soil that is ideal for mudslides.
Calaveras County
The county, which is home to about 300,000 people and is located in the San Joaquin Valley about 130 miles east of San Jose, has had some of the state's most dreadful weather, with last week's flooding forcing hundreds of people to leave their homes. Planada, a small farming village 90 minutes outside Yosemite National Park, was one of the hardest-hit locations.
The county, which is a section of California's Central Valley, has received more rain this month than it did in January of last year, when the state was experiencing a drought. On Sunday, the storm conditions in the area subsided, but the people were prepared for another round of heavy rain and potential floods. Rain is anticipated to fall all day Monday.
The California National Guard and the county's Office of Emergency Services collaborated this past weekend during a brief break to repair and reinforce the region's main rivers, including Bear Creek, which flooded last week.
Storm drains were cleaned up and levees throughout the valley were repaired as emergency personnel raced to pump out floodwater before the situation deteriorated further.
This weekend, the Merced County Sheriff's Office, local volunteers, and Red Cross personnel had the chance to provide food and water to weary neighbours as the county's evacuation orders were removed and the roads started to reopen.
