Reuters
ANNOUNCEMENTS•
California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in the US state due to heavy rains and gusts of wind.
More than 95,000 homes in California’s coastal regions are without electricity due to bad weather. Dozens of flights from San Francisco have also been cancelled. Residents of Northern California are advised not to travel.
“We predict this could be one of the most challenging weather conditions to hit California in the past five years,” Nancy Ward, director of California’s Office of Emergency Services, told the AP news agency. In 2018, a storm on the California coast killed 23 people in mudslides.
Oprah, Harry and Meghan
Santa Barbara County was the first to evacuate people. That area had previously been devastated by forest fires. Heavy rains could then lead to flooding and debris flows. According to local authorities, hundreds of people are estimated to have fled the area.
One of the municipalities to be evacuated is Montecito. Many celebrities also live in that city, including Oprah Winfrey and Prince Harry and his wife Meghan.
Floods and droughts
Montecito Fire Chief Kevin Taylor told the AP that the weather could quickly become a hazard. “A lot of the water comes down from the hilltops through streams and creeks and then builds momentum,” Taylor said.
While heavy rains are expected, they won’t be enough to end an ongoing drought in the state, which is now entering its fourth year. The trees have been in bad shape for some time due to low rainfall in recent years. Now that the ground is suddenly saturated and the wind is blowing hard, the trees fall faster.
This could lead to power outages and flooding, said Karla Nemeth, director of the state’s water resources department. “We are in the midst of a flood emergency and also in the midst of a drought emergency,” she said at an emergency briefing.
Two dead
Northern California also experienced severe weather on New Year’s Eve. This also led to the evacuation of residents of remote areas and motorists who had to be rescued after encountering flooded roads. According to US media, at least two people were killed.
