A “bomb cyclone” hits California and threatens flooding and landslides

A cyclone bomb hit on Wednesday in Californiawith strong winds and torrential rains expected to cause flooding in areas already saturated by previous storms.

Authorities issued threat to life and property warnings in much of this east coast state of USAthe most populous in the country, particularly around the cities of San Francisco and Sacramento.

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Meteorologists warned that gusts of up to 70 kilometers per hour and heavy rain could hit the region on Wednesday, while the precipitation will continue until Thursday.

The National Weather Service (NWS) noted that there could be “widespread flooding, washed out roads, collapsed hillsides, downed trees, widespread power outages, immediate business interruption and worst of all, likely loss of life.”

– State of emergency –

California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency “to support response and recovery efforts,” while San Francisco established an Emergency Operations Center.

Firefighters warned the population to avoid an area where the windows of an apartment complex were blown due to strong winds.

Meanwhile, thousands of sandbags were handed out to residents fearful of flooding.

“We are very concerned,” Deepak Srivastava told CBS in San Francisco.

“I spent the whole day sandbagging in front of the garage and at each entry point and fingers crossed that I didn’t have more damage.”

City officials said they were working around the clock to try to help people prepare.

“We’ve been working very hard to get sandbags from wherever we can in Northern California,” said Rachel Gordon of the San Francisco Department of Public Works, who warned residents to take the storm very seriously.

The intense rains are caused by a combination of a cyclonic pump -abrupt drop in pressure- and an atmospheric river -a long and narrow humid corridor that carries moisture from the ocean-.

Up to 100 millimeters of rain is expected in the San Francisco Bay area, and double that over the nearby hills.

It is forecast that 1.2 meters of snow will be recorded in the Sierra Nevada.

– Various storms –

The downpours add to a series of storms that have brought heavy rainfall in recent weeks.

On New Year’s Eve, parts of Northern California were hit by a storm that caused mudslides and power outages, as well as levee breaches and flooded roads.

At least one person died after being trapped in a submerged car.

San Francisco recorded almost 140 millimeters of rain on December 31, the second-highest volume in the city on record.

The waterlogging caused by those storms exacerbates the danger from this one, meteorologist Matt Solum told AFP.

“This storm alone, without previous storms, would cause localized flooding and rock and mudslides,” he said.

“But with the recent wet conditions, much of the rain that has already fallen has saturated the ground, so any additional rain will run off rather than soak into the ground.”

The western United States is suffering from a decades-long drought, with below-average rainfall leaving river and reservoir levels worryingly low.

While meteorologists consider any rain helpful, sudden downpours from heavy storms can do more harm than good, as the ground is not capable of absorbing very large volumes of water very quickly.

Source: Elcomercio

jack

I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.