California rainstorm death toll reaches 20, Biden plans visit
Send a link to a friend
[January 17, 2023]
By Daniel Trotta
(Reuters) - The parade of atmospheric rivers that pounded California for
three weeks finally faded on Monday, enabling the state to begin lengthy
repairs to roads and levees as the White House announced President Joe
Biden planned to survey the damage.
The nine consecutive rainstorms that inundated California in succession
since Dec. 26 killed at least 20 people while tens of thousands remained
under evacuation orders as of Monday, Governor Gavin Newsom said in an
executive order that reinforced the state's response to storm damage.
"The last of the heavier rain in California is slowly fading. After
midnight it shouldn't be heavy anymore," said meteorologist David Roth
of the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center.
Biden will travel to areas of the central coast on Thursday to meet
first responders, visit affected towns, and "assess what additional
federal support is needed," the White House said.
The president had already issued an emergency declaration on Jan. 8 to
free up federal aid and then on Saturday authorized disaster assistance
for Merced, Sacramento and Santa Cruz counties.
The White House has yet to reveal the areas Biden will visit.
Among the more dramatic images of storm damage were those of Highway 1,
the scenic coastal highway near Big Sur, which was closed at several
points due to mudslides and falling boulders strewn across the road.
While damaging, the storms also helped mitigate a historic drought, as
much of the state has already received half or more its average annual
rainfall.
But with more than two months to go in the rainy season, officials are
urging Californians to continue conserving water. The U.S. Drought
Monitor still shows almost the entire state under moderate or severe
drought conditions. Reservoir levels were still below average for this
time of year, officials said.
[to top of second column]
|
The Russian River, swollen with
floodwater following a chain of winter storms, flows past the town
of Guerneville, California, U.S. January 15, 2023. REUTERS/Fred
Greaves/File Photo
Moreover, the atmospheric rivers largely failed to reach the
Colorado River basin, a critical source of southern California's
water.
"If you rely on the Colorado River basin as a part of your water
supply, then there will be continuing drought problems due to the
extreme drought in that part of the world," Michael Anderson,
California's state climatologist, told reporters.
The Colorado's two major reservoirs, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, were
at 28.5% and 22.6% of capacity, respectively, and still below levels
from this time a year ago according to Water-Data.com.
The ninth consecutive atmospheric river fizzled out on Monday, its
remnants soaking the southernmost part of the state, Arizona and
northern Mexico, Roth said.
The storms are akin to rivers in the sky that carry moisture from
the Earth's tropics to higher latitudes, dumping massive amounts of
rain.
Another storm was coming that could bring moderate rain on Tuesday
and Wednesday. The U.S. National Weather Service said it lacked the
volume to be classified as an atmospheric river, while the state
Department of Water Resources said it may briefly qualify as one.
California can otherwise expect dry conditions for the remainder of
January, state officials said.
(Reporting by Daniel Trotta in Carlsbad, Calif., and Rich McKay in
Atlanta; Editing by Josie Kao, Grant McCool and Jamie Freed)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|