Governor Gavin Newsom is Working with the White House and CalOES to Prepare
Just days after the last damaging storm, California is preparing for another wave of large and potentially damaging winter storms. Gavin Newsom, the Governor of California, requested a Federal Disaster Declaration to allow resources to be allocated ahead of the storm. President Biden approved the declaration today. The approval will allow CalOES to work with FEMA and the National Guard to ensure resources are available for rapid infrastructure repair, shelters, and rescue operations. The state has prepositioned fire and rescue resources in high risk areas to quickly mobilize in the event of debris flows, flash floods, or avalanches. Visit the link here for additional California Winter Storm resources from CalOES.
CalOES Director Nancy Ward and Governor Gavin Newsom address the CalOES State Operations Center (SOC) ahead of the next major winter storm.
Photo by CalOES
Storm Facts
According to a report by CNN, 90% of Californians are under a flood watch today, Monday, January 9th. The storm started to impact Northern California first and has been moving down into the Central Coast this afternoon. Tomorrow, Tuesday, January 10th, it will continue impact Los Angeles and eventually San Diego Counties. Currently, Santa Barbara, Sonoma, Sacramento, Santa Cruz, El Dorado, Monterey, Santa Clara, and Alameda Counties have issued evacuations due to current or expected flash flooding or other risk factors. This is a dynamic situation and not a complete or final list of evacuations. Many regions in Northern and Central California are experiencing rainfall in excess of one inch per hour. Due to a lack of vegetation regrowth, Highway and road closures are in place near burn scars. High winds and saturated soil has led to multiple fallen trees that knocked out power lines.
If you are a resident in California, you can sign up for emergency alerts at CalAlerts.org.
Sources:
https://news.caloes.ca.gov/
https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/09/us/california-flooding-atmospheric-river-monday/index.html
