STORY: Dramatic situation in central California after severe storms. In the rural small town of Porterville, which lies between Bakersfield and Fresno, the water masses have flooded large parts of the past few days. Porterville resident Victoria Bodley said: “I’ve lost my entire existence. My 86-year-old father lives there. He’s lost everything too. Everything. I’m 57 years old and I’ve lived here since I was seven, so 50 years ago. My father and I lost everything. There was no warning. Nothing.” According to residents, the flooding destroyed everything in its path within 15 minutes, leaving no time to evacuate houses or bring animals to safety. The US state of California is struggling with an unusually high level of precipitation this spring after severe droughts in previous years.