Central California is at risk of “catastrophic flooding” this weekend, according to meteorologists, when an eighth consecutive storm hits completely soggy soil, unable to absorb new rains.
The most populous state in the United States has been hit for three weeks by precipitation bordering on historic records. Between floods, landslides, widespread power outages and falling trees, this series of storms has claimed at least 19 lives, according to authorities.
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A new low pressure system hit California on Friday and authorities in the center of the state are particularly worried. According to forecasts, the Monterey Peninsula could be cut off from the world by the rising waves, and the entire town of Salinas, which has 160,000 inhabitants, could be flooded.
“The Monterey Peninsula could become an island”
“The entire lower part of the Salinas Valley will experience catastrophic flooding”, warned the US Weather Service (NWS), which adds that more than 36,000 hectares of agricultural land should end up under water. The flooding could last until Sunday.
Several areas in the region are under evacuation orders, and the Monterey Peninsula could find itself cut off from the world if the roads are cut off by the waves. “Residents of the peninsula and the Salinas region should expect to be isolated for two or three days”Monterey County officials warned earlier this week.
“The Monterey Peninsula could become an island” because of the floods, warned the local sheriff, Tina Nieto, asking residents to prepare to avoid being trapped by the floods. “This is a slow-moving event” and not all places will be affected at the same time, she explained.
series of storms
A series of storms have battered California in recent weeks. The lulls are short-lived and barely give authorities time to clean up the mess before the next deluge.
Hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses lost power at different times. And it’s not over, according to meteorologists. “The current unstable weather in the west of the country (…) unfortunately continues this weekend, with two more rounds of heavy rainfall forecast”warned the NWS.
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In the mountains, this precipitation translates into heavy snowfall, with more than a meter expected over the weekend in the Sierra Nevada. Enough to make travel dangerous or impossible.
At least 19 people have died since the start of this dark series. In particular, drivers were found in their cars trapped by the waves, people hit by falling trees, a couple was killed by a landslide and corpses were washed away by the floods.
Extreme weather conditions
California is used to extreme weather conditions, and winter storms are common. Such a sequence of deluge is however out of the ordinary. Scientists regularly explain that warming increases the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events.
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However, the torrential rains of the past few weeks will not be enough to end the drought that has hit this western American state hard for two decades.
“A few weeks of storms isn’t enough given California’s drought, but it’s certainly welcome”explained Jay Lund, director of the University of California at Davis, to the “San Francisco Chronicle”.
According to experts, several winters of above-normal precipitation would be needed to compensate for the drought of recent years.
