MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Biden declares “major disaster” in California as storms kill 19

Newsom advised Californians to exercise common sense

US President Joseph Biden has declared a state of catastrophe in the State of California as unprecedented rains and mudslides leave at least 19 people dead over the past three weeks. Tens of thousands have been also been evacuated.

Biden “declared that a major disaster exists in the State of California and ordered Federal aid to supplement State, tribal, and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by severe winter storms, flooding, landslides, and mudslides,” the White House said in a statement.

The measure allows the federal government to assist in the reparations of the damages sustained since Dec. 27 due to winter storms causing floods, landslides, and mudslides as the National Weather Service (NWS) was anything but optimistic about a drastic change for the better.

The NWS also warned of “disastrous flooding” in the Salinas region, a major agricultural area south of San Francisco. Power lines were damaged, and fields and roads were completely flooded, it was also reported.

”Waves of heavy precipitation continue to batter California. Heavy rain will continue bringing the threat of flooding and mudslides/landslides. Hazardous travel due to heavy mountain snow and blowing snow from (California) to (Colorado),“ the NWS said.

California Governor Gavin Newsom advised the population Saturday that ”it's not over“ and urged residents to remain vigilant and to continue to apply ”common sense over the course of the next 24 to 48 hours” as a flood warning was issued.

More than 16,000 households statewide were left without power Sunday, according to poweroutage.us. The brief interruptions between storms barely give authorities time to clear debris or restore electricity, it was reported.

According to AccuWeather, the storms have caused material damages worth up to US$34 billion so far.

In the mountains, residents were also recommended to look out for possible avalanches as heavy snow storms were forecast.

Although California is used to extreme weather and despite the short-term disasters, rain is badly needed in the western United States, where more than two decades of drought have imposed unprecedented restrictions on water use.