Status: 01/15/2023 07:27 am
After further heavy rains, US President Biden declared a state of emergency for California. The US state has been hit by strong storms since Christmas, around 26 million people are affected by flooding.
The latest in a string of storms that has lasted since Christmas swept through an already hard-hit California region on Saturday, bringing heavy rain and causing flooding. Fields and roads were flooded in many places, and power lines were damaged.
US President Joe Biden then declared a state of emergency in the state of California late Saturday evening (local time) and directed federal funds to support people in the particularly affected counties of Merced, Sacramento and Santa Cruz.
About 26 million people affected
As of Saturday afternoon, around 20,000 households still had no power, according to the website poweroutage.us. “We’re not done yet,” Gavin Newsom, the governor of the US state, warned after visiting those affected. He warned to remain “vigilant”.
Nearly 26 million Californians continue to be affected by flood warnings, according to the national weather service NWS. Tens of thousands of people were asked to leave their homes.
In the mountains, the persistent precipitation led to large amounts of snow, according to the authorities, there is a risk of avalanches.
Lots of rain after years of drought
According to the US government, at least 19 people have died in flooding, power outages, mudslides and earth collapses since December 26 in California, which is otherwise plagued by drought.
A new weather front with heavy rain, snow and gusts hit the coast on Saturday. In some regions, 50 percent of the average amount of precipitation for a whole year was registered within a few days.