Brutal Storm In California Causes Deaths & Floods
It seems that with the arrival of the new year, the weather conditions keep worsening. In San Francisco, there was a powerful winter storm that unleashed strong winds and heavy rains across Northern California on Wednesday. Due to an intense downpour, some rivers were tipped towards floods, a situation which prompted evacuations. This force of wind left thousands without power and knocked over a gas station canopy in South San Francisco.
The outcome of this storm was the death of a child which triggered evacuations, and power outages and heightened the fear of widespread flooding and debris flow. In Sonoma County, a child under the age of 2 was killed by a tree falling in the creekside community of Occidental. The Occidental Volunteer Fire Department Chief Ronald Lunardi said that even though the paramedics tried to resuscitate the injured toddler, their efforts were of no use because the child was declared dead at the scene.
Due to these weather conditions, evacuation orders were placed for the coastal towns east of Santa Cruz, including Rio del Mar, Seacliff, Soquel, and Capitola which is a popular tourist resort bisected by Soquel Creek. The authorities In San Jose were keeping a close eye on the possible flooding which could affect some populated areas, including along Ross Creek at Cherry Avenue, Upper Penitencia Creek at King and Mabury roads, and Guadalupe River which is located at West Alma Avenue.
The extent of the flood risk will remain unknown till Thursday, however, the rain and wind can bring life-threatening peril. During the earlier storms, 4 people were killed which included two bodies located near where the Cosumnes River flooded in Sacramento County, inundating Highway 99, another body was found farther south, west of Galt, and a 72-year-old died after impact with a falling tree in Santa Cruz. The weather this winter has proven to be deadly and residents are told to take appropriate precautions in order to avoid any further tragedies.
The storm experienced on Wednesday is the third atmospheric river that has struck California within the last two weeks. These storms have brought a deluge of water to the drought-stricken state which in return prompted Gov. Gavin Newsom to declare a state of emergency in order to support the response and recovery efforts.
The weather services have warned of extreme rises in rivers, creeks, and streams across the region and the addition of gusty winds which have caused trees and branches to fall down which has localized the damming of waterways. In several burn areas, which include the August Complex fire, the River Complex fire, the Mosquito fire, and the western region of the Dixie fire, flash flood watches have been issued.
There are concerns regarding the threats of landslides which can still occur days after these rains end. Because of this, a hillside next to homes in Richmond was being closely monitored by officials. As a result of these powerful winds, there were more than 70 flights that were canceled at San Francisco International Airport on Wednesday afternoon. Gusts and soggy soils have caused many trees to fall across the region and in an incident, a car got stuck near San Francisco City Hall but thankfully, firefighters were able to rescue the struggling family inside.
It is essential that people during this weather take extreme caution and protect themselves and others from facing or being the subject of any more tragedies.
