New flooding in California from heavy rain

On Saturday, heavy rain and heavy mountain snow blanketed many areas of the United States’ most populous state, whose soils are already saturated with water.

Another low pressure system should move in from the Pacific during the day Saturday, showering the coast, valleys and then the mountains of California, the US Weather Service (NWS) warned.

Power lines were damaged, fields and roads were flooded.

is not finishedGavin Newsom, the governor of California, warned at a press conference, arguing that even if the intensity of the rain decreases, the soils are flooded and the risk of flooding, therefore, remains significant.

Aware of the weariness of the Californians after weeks of rain, he wanted to encourage them not to give up.

« I urge everyone to stay alert and common sense for the next 24 to 48 hours. »

Gavin Newsom said he’s confident Joe Biden will soon sign a major disaster declaration: This is the intention of the President American, he said.

In the Salinas region, south of the city of San Francisco, home to 160,000 people, where the river of the same name overflowed its banks, floods damaged the agricultural corners of the valley but spared the towns, an Agence France-Presse journalist noted Saturday morning. AFP).

In Spreckles, an apartment complex a few hundred yards from the creek, most residents were not evacuated despite warnings from authorities this week.

Looks like we avoided the worstbreathes Robert Zagajeski, walking his dog in a light rain. According to forecasters, the river should begin to decrease from Saturday.

Like the rest of California, Salinas is the birthplace of John Steinbeck, whose Nobel Prize for Literature largely inspired his writing. The Grapes of Wrathrelates to floods.

We need as much rain as possible, but there is absolutely nothing farmers can do with fields so drenchedsighs Mr. Zagajeski.

A few kilometers away, Erik Diaz watches the flooded fields from his modest wooden house near the river. Despite an evacuation order targeting 17,000 people in the region, he is also staying at home.

I have nowhere to go and so far so goodsays the 30-year-old farm worker.

In recent years, the region has been severely affected by droughtexplainsAFP Manuel Paris, a 58-year-old agricultural worker, was impressed by the river rushing downstream. It’s been so long, we’re not used to so much rain.

news Atmospheric riverThat is, a narrow band in the atmosphere that carries a huge amount of moisture from the tropics is expected on Monday, a public holiday in the US. he will bring New waves of extreme precipitationwarns the NWS.

In the mountains, this precipitation translates into heavy snow, with more than a meter expected in the Sierra Nevada over the weekend, with authorities warning of avalanche danger and advising against any movement.

At least 19 people have died since the start of this series of bad weather. In particular, drivers got stuck in their cars in the waves, people crashed into fallen trees, a landslide killed a husband and wife, and floods swept away bodies.

California is used to extreme weather conditions and winter storms are common. On the other hand, such a sequence is unusual.

Although it is difficult to establish a direct link between this series of storms and climate change, scientists regularly explain that warming increases the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events.

However, according to experts, torrential rains in the past few weeks will not be enough to end the drought that has plagued this western American state for two decades.