Biden Issues Major Disaster Declaration for California, Alabama

President Joe Biden approved a major disaster declaration for California following storms that have left at least 19 people dead amid widespread flooding, mudslides, and other adverse weather incidents.

A similar declaration was issued in Alabama after severe storms, straight-line winds, and tornadoes impacted Alabama on Jan. 12, according to the White House.

On Saturday, Biden issued an order to provide federal aid to supplement state, tribal, and local recovery efforts after waves of storms hammered the state starting in late December as part of what the National Weather Service (NWS) is an “atmospheric river.”

“The president’s action makes federal funding available to affected individuals in the counties of Merced, Sacramento and Santa Cruz,” the White House said in a statement. “Federal funding also is available to state, tribal and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work in the counties of Merced, Sacramento, and Santa Cruz.”

The NWS said that more rain is expected Sunday and Monday in some parts of California, according to a Sunday bulletin. However, after that, drier weather is anticipated in much of the state

“Lower elevation valley/coastal rain and heavy high elevation mountain snow continue to expand across the west as multiple storm systems affect the region,” the agency said. “The first system that brought more heavy rain and flooding concerns across California on Saturday is moving through the Great Basin and towards the Rockies today ahead of another system moving in from the Pacific early Monday.”

Up to two inches of rain was predicted for the already-soaked Sacramento Valley, where residents of semi-rural Wilton, home to about 5,000 people, were ordered to evacuate as the Cosumnes River continued to rise. Another three inches of snow and gusty winds were expected in the Sierra Nevada. Interstate 80, a key highway from the San Francisco Bay Area to Lake Tahoe ski resorts, reopened after being closed most of Saturday because of slick roads, snow, and whiteout conditions.

The University of California Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab posted on social media Sunday morning that it received 21.5 inches of snow in 24 hours. Its snowpack of about 10 feet (3 meters) was expected to grow several more feet by Monday.

Reports say that at least 19 people have died from storm-related incidents over the past three weeks. Some died in rockslides, falling trees, or flooding, according to the reports.

More than 68,000 utility customers were without power as of Saturday morning, a number that was cut by more than half during the afternoon, according to Poweroutage.us. That number dwindled to about 12,000 by Sunday afternoon, the website shows.

On Saturday, swollen Salinas River swamped farmland in Monterey County, and to the east, flood warnings were in effect for Merced County in the agricultural Central Valley, where Gov. Gavin Newsom visited to take stock of storm problems.

A rainstorm hits the Southland in Newport Beach, Calif., on Jan 5, 2023. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

“The reality is that this is just the eighth of what we anticipate will be nine atmospheric rivers—we’re not done,” Newsom said at a briefing with local leaders where he urged people to be vigilant about safety for the next 24 to 48 hours.

In a visit to Montecito on Friday, Newsom asked residents to exercise caution, and to heed warnings from public safety officials. “I know how fatigued you all are,” Newsom said. “Just maintain a little more vigilance over the course of the next weekend.”

Drought

The waves of storms and rainfall have lowered California’s drought intensity, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor’s latest report. Much of the state is labeled as being in a moderate or severe drought as some portions of the state were considered “extreme” two weeks ago.

“Good news is that [the reservoirs] are off historic lows,” Michael Anderson, an official with the state’s Department of Water Resources, told reporters on Wednesday. “The challenge is that they still have a lot of recovery to make before they would be back to normal operating conditions—so something to be mindful of.”

Meanwhile, one official said that there was a stark difference between what the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center had forecast for winter and what actually happened. The agency predicted below-normal rainfall and snowfall in Southern California and said Northern California would see average precipitation levels.

“You have no idea come Dec. 1 what your winter is going to look like because our seasonal forecasts are so bad,” Jeffrey Mount, a senior fellow with the Public Policy Institute of California’s Water Policy Center, told the Washington Post. “They are just not reliable enough to make definitive water supply decisions.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Breaking News Reporter

Jack Phillips is a senior reporter for The Epoch Times based in New York. He covers breaking news.

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