Calay News
Over the past few weeks, the state of California has been hit by a series of intense storms that seem to have no end in sight. The most recent of these occurred between Friday night and early Saturday morning and left two people dead and thousands evacuated. The levee on the Monterey County coast broke due to the overflow of the Pajaro River around midnight. State Emergency Manager Nancy Ward reported Friday that at least two people had lost their lives due to the weather conditions.
Images posted on the state National Guard’s Twitter account showed how they rescued residents who were trapped in their vehicles due to high water levels. In addition, at least one road was washed out in Santa Cruz County, north of Monterey. Residents of several cities, mostly in the north, were ordered to evacuate due to the weather conditions.
These unusual storms are part of a powerful atmospheric river known as the Pineapple Express, and the most recent storm was expected to dump up to 230 millimeters of rain on already saturated ground. This rainfall could accelerate the melting of a massive snowpack at high elevations and exacerbate flooding that is already critical in some areas.
US President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration on Friday, clearing the way for federal aid to be disbursed to the state. California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that the state is using every tool at its disposal to protect communities from the relentless and deadly series of storms.
It is important to note that in January of this year, the storms that hit California left 20 people dead. Faced with this scenario, authorities have taken measures to minimize risks and ensure the safety of citizens.
