California Continues to Be Soaked Due to Persistent Storms

California Continues to Be Soaked Due to Persistent Storms: After weeks of intense storms, many Californians are wondering when they will stop. Multi-million dollar coastal homes are being pounded by gusts, automobiles are being eaten up by sinkholes, and over a dozen people have been killed.

Since the December holidays, the state’s renowned sunny southern coast has been battered by storm after storm, producing landslides, road erosion, and tree damage. According to Governor Gavin Newsom, as of Tuesday night, at least 17 individuals had perished in weather-related accidents since the storms started.

According to the National Weather Service, hundreds of people have been forced to evacuate, and more than 22 million people—nearly the entire population of Australia—are currently under flood watch.

The beach in Santa Cruz, a surfing town south of San Francisco, has changed beyond recognition, with the sand now entirely covered in timber from enormous trees that have been uprooted and destroyed elsewhere. The BBC visited other flooded villages to see how high the waters had jumped. One has increased their height by 17 feet recently.

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Many individuals are trapped at the top level of their homes, unable to exit until the water recedes, as houses have no chance against the swiftly increasing seas and flooding. Weather expert Andrea Bair, a climate services program manager for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa), said the “parade of storms” that have walloped the state is exceptionally intense even though wet weather is typical throughout the winter months.

Heavy winds and weather phenomena like air rivers and bomb cyclones have frequently delivered devastating blows. Even if it’s too early to pinpoint the root of this recent spate of severe weather, Ms. Blair predicted that climate change will lead to an increase in the frequency of extreme weather.

California Continues to Be Soaked Due to Persistent Storms: The damage has been made worse by the subsequent rains since flooding is more likely when soil moisture levels rise. Trees are more likely to fall when they sustain repeated harm. Additionally, areas may become more prone to landslides and sinkholes.

Noaa predicts that damage and cleanup from the storms could total $1 billion for the state. It doesn’t seem like the state will soon receive a break. This weekend and into the next week, more storms are predicted, according to Ms. Blair. Even though they might be gentler than the storms from last weekend and Monday, they will probably still do a lot of damage because of the repeated destruction.

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According to Ms. Blair, “it really isn’t going to take a lot of rain or those extremely powerful gusts to really cause havoc.” “The reason we’re where we are right now is because of the repetition of these storms after,” said the speaker.