Landslides, fallen trees, floods – the US state of California was hit by a severe storm. In some cases there was as much rain as usual in months. At least three people died.
It was a storm of historic proportions: According to the US Weather Service, California has not had as much rain as in the past two days in 150 years. There were floods, flash floods and landslides. Trees were uprooted, houses damaged and cars destroyed. Authorities report at least three deaths. About 710,000 people were without power Monday evening.
The state’s governor, Gavin Newsom, had already warned on Sunday of a “severe storm with dangerous and potentially life-threatening impacts” and declared a state of emergency for several districts. A flash flood warning was in effect for virtually all of Southern California. The mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, called on residents of the city of over a million people to only leave the house in urgent emergencies.
Heavy rains caused flooding in Santa Barbara on Sunday.
Deaths from fallen trees
Near Sacramento, a man was hit by a falling tree in his yard and later died from his injuries, the Sacramento County coroner’s office said. In the other two cases, two people were fatally injured by falling trees in northern California, reported the US broadcaster CNN, among others.
The National Weather Service (NWS) called it “the most severe storm of the season” with the risk of “dangerous flooding, massive snowfall, wind gusts, coastal flooding and high surf.” Between 12.7 and 25.4 centimeters of rain fell in the Los Angeles area. Sunday and Monday were among the wettest two-day periods since 1877, it said.
Further landslides possible
The storm, which initially hit the greater San Francisco area, moved further south on Monday and reached Santa Barbara and Los Angeles. The intensity of the rain is expected to ease throughout the day. However, the risk of flooding remains high. “The ground is extremely saturated, supersaturated,” said weather service meteorologist Ariel Cohen. “It is unable to absorb additional water before it slides. It doesn’t take much rain to trigger more landslides, mudslides, rockfalls and other debris flows.”
The garage of a home in Los Angeles was swept away by a landslide.
The reason for the storm is a weather phenomenon known as the “Pineapple Express”, which brings large amounts of moist air from the Pacific from the region around Hawaii to California. In the summer, the western United States experienced an extreme heat wave with record temperatures. The following winter has been unusually wet so far. According to experts, global warming is causing extreme weather phenomena to occur more and more frequently.
Katharina Wilhelm, ARD Los Angeles, tagesschau, February 5th, 2024 7:42 a.m