The president of the United States, Joe Biden, declared a state of serious catastrophe in California, where new storms were expected this Sunday, after
three weeks of unprecedented rainfall
that caused at least 19 deaths.
Biden ordered federal aid to help the inhabitants and municipalities of this state, in the west of the country, to repair the damage caused since December 27 by
violent winter storms
, which caused floods, landslides and mudslides, according to a statement from the White House.
An impressive wave of rain - and snow in mountainous areas - swept away many areas of the country's most populous state on Saturday, whose already flooded soils are reaching saturation point.
A new "atmospheric river" is expected to return on Monday,
meaning a strip of moisture that carries large amounts of water from the tropics.
The National Weather Service (NWS) warned that it will bring "new waves of extreme precipitation."
A flooded road near Montecito, California.
Photo: AP
Power lines were damaged
, and fields and roads were totally flooded.
The NWS warned of "disastrous flooding" in the Salinas region, a major agricultural area south of San Francisco.
Alert to the population
The governor of California, Gavin Newsom, warned the population that they are not yet safe: "It is not over," he said on Saturday after visiting the inhabitants affected by the storms.
Newsom urged residents to remain vigilant and continue to exercise "common sense over the course of the next 24 to 48 hours."
About 26 million Californians remained under a flood watch
Saturday night, according to the NWS, and tens of thousands are ordered to evacuate.
As of Sunday there were more than 16,000 homes without power, according to poweroutage.us.
In the Salinas region, a city of 160,000 where the river of the same name overflowed, the flooding affected the valley's agricultural sectors but spared urban areas, according to witnesses.
A police vehicle moves through the water in the town of Aptos, California, this Saturday.
Photo: EFE
Under leaden skies and intermittent rain, the water course broke its course in some places, flooding hundreds of meters of fields.
In Spreckels, a small community near the river, most residents chose not to evacuate despite warnings from authorities.
"It looks like we've avoided the worst," said Robert Zagajeski, out walking his dog in a light rain.
According to experts, the river should be returning to its course from this weekend.
In one of the areas, two tractors equipped with pumping equipment returned the stagnant water accumulated by the rains of recent days to the river, to prevent the soil from completely flooding.
"The region has been hit hard by drought in recent years," Manuel Paris, a 58-year-old farm worker, told AFP.
"It's been a long time, we're not used to seeing so much rain anymore," he added.
Brief breaks between the storms that have hit the area in recent weeks barely give authorities time to clear debris or restore power.
Felton residents try to remove mud and water in front of their California homes.
Photo: EFE
heavy snowfall
In the mountains, this phenomenon translates into heavy snowfall, with more than one meter forecast over the weekend in Sierra Nevada, for which reason the authorities warn about the risk of avalanches and advise against any movement.
Images released by authorities of a major highway in the Lake Tahoe region show dozens of cars stopped in the middle of a snow storm on Saturday morning.
At least 19 people have died
since the start of this series of storms.
Drivers have been found trapped in their vehicles by waves, people have been injured after falling trees, a couple died in a landslide and bodies have been washed away by floodwaters.
California is used to extreme weather
, and winter storms are common, as are summer heat waves and wildfires.
But scientists say
climate change is making these phenomena more ferocious
.
While it is wreaking short-term disasters, the rain is badly needed in the American West, where more than two decades of drought have imposed unprecedented restrictions on water use.
However, experts warn that even the monster downpours that have hit the region this month are not going to reverse more than 20 years of below-average rainfall.
Source: AFP
BC
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