Zürcher Nachrichten - New storms hitting California as it faces already 'disastrous' floods

EUR -
AED 3.818175
AFN 72.797719
ALL 98.449296
AMD 411.004828
ANG 1.872955
AOA 948.054394
ARS 1066.311715
AUD 1.668113
AWG 1.87116
AZN 1.768965
BAM 1.954396
BBD 2.098393
BDT 124.19081
BGN 1.955581
BHD 0.392145
BIF 3072.59335
BMD 1.039533
BND 1.410387
BOB 7.196831
BRL 6.437413
BSD 1.039254
BTN 88.509435
BWP 14.374677
BYN 3.400558
BYR 20374.855355
BZD 2.090099
CAD 1.497624
CDF 2983.460647
CHF 0.935829
CLF 0.037222
CLP 1027.163148
CNY 7.585372
CNH 7.588908
COP 4586.421522
CRC 527.721006
CUC 1.039533
CUP 27.547636
CVE 110.185868
CZK 25.132789
DJF 185.06709
DKK 7.460721
DOP 63.054716
DZD 140.566631
EGP 52.908195
ERN 15.593002
ETB 132.294989
FJD 2.411977
FKP 0.823292
GBP 0.829486
GEL 2.920682
GGP 0.823292
GHS 15.277028
GIP 0.823292
GMD 74.846661
GNF 8978.551858
GTQ 8.007249
GYD 217.423852
HKD 8.074363
HNL 26.398042
HRK 7.456476
HTG 135.892406
HUF 411.386519
IDR 16854.007582
ILS 3.816247
IMP 0.823292
INR 88.537577
IQD 1361.422265
IRR 43751.368531
ISK 145.098247
JEP 0.823292
JMD 162.233488
JOD 0.737345
JPY 163.308108
KES 134.359917
KGS 90.43918
KHR 4168.006655
KMF 484.552483
KPW 935.579512
KRW 1516.736442
KWD 0.320353
KYD 0.866078
KZT 542.14065
LAK 22741.667577
LBP 93065.16323
LKR 307.719005
LRD 189.144162
LSL 19.151746
LTL 3.069472
LVL 0.628803
LYD 5.103335
MAD 10.455991
MDL 19.13226
MGA 4899.481331
MKD 61.484688
MMK 3376.364052
MNT 3532.334482
MOP 8.317127
MRU 41.38328
MUR 48.930718
MVR 16.006255
MWK 1802.105779
MXN 20.946609
MYR 4.664402
MZN 66.430063
NAD 19.151746
NGN 1609.062836
NIO 38.242535
NOK 11.851383
NPR 141.615296
NZD 1.844195
OMR 0.400229
PAB 1.039254
PEN 3.876416
PGK 4.215972
PHP 60.790857
PKR 289.562045
PLN 4.272583
PYG 8113.173348
QAR 3.788779
RON 4.974478
RSD 116.96726
RUB 103.956844
RWF 1439.366288
SAR 3.902853
SBD 8.714986
SCR 14.844265
SDG 625.277692
SEK 11.524705
SGD 1.413157
SHP 0.823292
SLE 23.699822
SLL 21798.499544
SOS 593.973425
SRD 36.51156
STD 21516.243325
SVC 9.093469
SYP 2611.859198
SZL 19.14625
THB 35.502128
TJS 11.353846
TMT 3.648762
TND 3.309823
TOP 2.434695
TRY 36.647089
TTD 7.05893
TWD 33.975901
TZS 2515.671135
UAH 43.68063
UGX 3819.257117
USD 1.039533
UYU 46.496607
UZS 13408.370487
VES 53.614006
VND 26445.730624
VUV 123.415492
WST 2.87201
XAF 655.486248
XAG 0.035243
XAU 0.000398
XCD 2.809391
XDR 0.796728
XOF 655.486248
XPF 119.331742
YER 260.273179
ZAR 19.359023
ZMK 9357.102525
ZMW 28.761344
ZWL 334.729342
  • RBGPF

    -0.7000

    59.8

    -1.17%

  • RELX

    0.1200

    45.59

    +0.26%

  • RYCEF

    -0.0200

    7.25

    -0.28%

  • AZN

    1.2800

    66.63

    +1.92%

  • GSK

    0.4600

    34.06

    +1.35%

  • CMSD

    -0.0100

    23.55

    -0.04%

  • CMSC

    0.0420

    23.902

    +0.18%

  • RIO

    0.5900

    59.23

    +1%

  • NGG

    0.5200

    59.02

    +0.88%

  • SCS

    -0.0900

    11.65

    -0.77%

  • VOD

    -0.0200

    8.37

    -0.24%

  • BCC

    -0.5100

    122.24

    -0.42%

  • BP

    0.1500

    28.75

    +0.52%

  • JRI

    0.0400

    12.1

    +0.33%

  • BCE

    -0.3200

    22.84

    -1.4%

  • BTI

    -0.0200

    36.22

    -0.06%

New storms hitting California as it faces already 'disastrous' floods
New storms hitting California as it faces already 'disastrous' floods / Photo: DAVID MCNEW - AFP

New storms hitting California as it faces already 'disastrous' floods

The latest in a damaging succession of storm systems blew into California on Saturday, bringing heavy flooding to already waterlogged regions and threatening snowfalls of up to six feet (two meters) in areas.

Text size:

The latest system was expected to bring "heavy lower-elevation rain, significant mountain snow, and strong winds," with "another surge of Pacific moisture" expected Monday, the National Weather Service (NWS) said.

It predicted "disastrous flooding" across the lower Salinas River valley, an important agricultural region south of San Francisco Bay.

An AFP journalist saw the Salinas River overtopping its banks in many spots, at times covering farm fields for hundreds of yards (meters) even as rain continued under leaden skies.

The storms of recent weeks were originally welcomed -- coming after years of drought -- but by now have brought "disastrous" flooding, officials say.

Around 2030 GMT, there were 36,000 homes without power, according to poweroutage.

At least 19 people are known to have died from storm-related causes.

"This place was hit hard by the drought over the past years," 58-year-old farmworker Manuel Paris told AFP near Salinas. "We're not used to this much rain anymore."

The NWS said an additional two to three inches of rain (5.0 to 7.5 centimeters) could cause new flooding and mudslides, with parts of the Sierra Nevada seeing three to six feet of snow, and heavy winds buffeting central and coastal California at up to 50 miles per hour (80 kph).

- Impassable roads -

The most populous US state has been pummeled by near-record downpours over three weeks -- an average of nine inches of rain has fallen -- with the Salinas Valley among the hardest hit.

On Friday, forecasters warned that the Monterey Peninsula could be cut off and the whole city of Salinas -- home to 160,000 people -- could be hit by flooding.

But on Saturday an AFP journalist said the city itself had so far been largely spared.

One area resident, Kelley O’Connell, said the bursting of a levee near her home had worried her.

"If they release water from the dams or we get more rain, we’re just a field away," she told the San Francisco Chronicle as she collected sandbags.

Evacuation orders and warnings were widespread, with forecasters saying major roads could become impassable for days -- including highways linking the Monterey Peninsula with the rest of the county.

Resident John Guru said he was taking no chances, with four days' supplies at home and two days' worth in his car.

"This is crazy," he told the Monterey Herald. "I was not anticipating anything like this."

- Heavy snow -

Between storms, workers have rushed out to clear up some of the mess, shoveling mud from roads even in the heart of Los Angeles and using heavy machinery to remove fallen trees or clear rockslides.

An AFP journalist saw tractors in fields near Salinas fighting to pump floodwaters back into the river. Newly falling rain was not helping.

And forecasters say the unsettled weather in the US West -- associated with what is called an atmospheric river pattern -- is not done.

Over the mountains, heavy snow was making travel dangerous or impossible on a three-day holiday weekend that honors civil rights leader Martin Luther King Junior, when many people normally would be heading to ski resorts.

Amid heightened risk of avalanches, officials urged people to stay home.

Authorities in the Lake Tahoe resort area posted pictures showing dozens of vehicles lined up on a road, stalled by a fierce blizzard.

Among those who have died in the last three weeks were drivers found in submerged cars, people struck by falling trees, and a husband and wife killed in a rockfall.

Winter storms are not unusual in California. But global warming is making them wetter and wilder.

 

The latest storms are not enough to end the drought but are "making a good dent," Jay Lund, a water resources specialist at the University of California, Davis, told the Chronicle.

O.Pereira--NZN