Flooding in California

The flooding in California that started on December 31, 2022 has become a major problem. Floods have been racking the Bay Area and the Central and Salinas Valleys. 19 people have already died and one 5-year-old girl is missing. Nearly 100,000 people have been forced to evacuate from their homes and there are no signs of the storms letting up.

The floods are caused by atmospheric rivers. Atmospheric rivers are essentially streams or regions of water vapor that form over oceans and travel through the sky. They occur globally, but are more significant on the West Coast. 

A wave of these atmospheric rivers have brought heavy rains to many states on the West Coast. Nevada, Arizona, and Utah have all been experiencing flooding, mudslides, and subsequent evacuations. Most of California has been receiving four to six times more rainfall than the average amount. 

Flood warnings have been issued in the Bay Area and Central Valley. The Salinas River has overflowed and flooded farmland all around the area.  The San Francisquito Creek has flooded multiple times. Flood warnings have been issued for the San Lorenzo River in Santa Cruz County, which is on the verge of overflowing. 

President Biden has declared the area a major disaster zone and sent in federal disaster assistance to help recovery in affected areas. Federal aid is available in nine California counties and the California National Guard has stepped in to help out as well. 

Some say that these floods aren’t leaving anytime soon. With climate change and other things affecting our environment, these floods may become a new normal for California. 

Sources:

• https://www.npr.org/2023/01/14/1149304548/california-storms-flooding-newsom

• https://www.npr.org/2023/02/06/1154901473/encore-recovering-from-storms-california-communities-hope-for-a-long-term-plan

• https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2023/01/12/flooding-in-california-what-went-wrong-and-what-comes-next/