Californians Grow Weary as Storms Force Another Round of Evacuations

WATSONVILLE, Calif. – The evacuation order went into effect, announced late Thursday through social media posts and loudspeakers used by the local police department. Another storm is approaching. People need to go to a safe place.

As he did during the previous storm, Cesar Leon, 39, director of the Salvation Army shelter in the small farming town of Watsonville, helped get his patrons to an emergency facility at the nearby fairgrounds. there.

This time, however, the feelings were different, he said: “They didn’t want to leave, because they just did it a month ago.”

It’s been a harsh winter for much of California, where areas are besieged by a succession of atmospheric rivers—storms named for their long narrow shape and the enormous amount of water they carry. carry — has grown weary of living under the specter of constant flooding.

However, another powerful storm system hit the state on Friday, particularly the central region. The storm trapped people, washed away sections of the road, turned snow into icy mud, forced evacuations, caused power outages and contributed to at least one death. President biden Approve request for emergency declaration from Governor Gavin Newsom, authorizing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate relief efforts in more than 30 counties.

In places like Watsonville, a city of about 50,000 in Santa Cruz County accustomed to smog and cool temperatures, there was an “unrepeatable” shiver every time inclement weather approached.

“People are starting to panic this time of year,” said Alex Lopez, 54, who works on a local farm that harvests lettuce and broccoli. “It’s time to work, not at home. People are losing money.”

Mr. Lopez, who grew up in the area, said that a few decades before the storm, he used to play in the water, floating the river in an inner tube.

The onslaught of recent storms over the past few months has damaged crops and the workforce. Wet winters caused farmers’ fertilizing and harvesting schedules to be cancelled. Mr. Lopez has noticed that the lettuce grows too slowly.

He said: “The last two floods, the water flooded all the fields, flooded the roads. “You can’t go through.”

The latest storm began Thursday night with heavy rain in the Bay Area, and is believed to have caused the roof of an Oakland warehouse used by Peet’s Coffee to collapse. One male employee died and one female employee was injured.

About 9,400 people statewide have been ordered to evacuate and more than 54,000 utility customers have lost power, said Nancy Ward, director of the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.

Monterey, a once-fishing town better known for its sunbathing California sea lions and famous aquarium, has been closed since Thursday night, with no working traffic lights and only There are darkened windows at businesses and homes. Violent rain and howling winds knocked down some of the trees and branches there during the night.

Palisades Tahoe, a popular ski resort north of Lake Tahoe that hosted the 1960 Winter Olympics, announced on Twitter that it will be closed on Friday “due to the high risk of avalanches and flooding.” The resort said peak winds had reached 139 mph, and there was rain falling as high as 8,500 feet – evidence of the river’s warm rainfall in the atmosphere, after weeks of snowstorms in the area. .

Teams in South Lake Tahoe spent the week clearing snow from roads, but for a period on Friday they had to focus on clearing snow and ice that was blocking storm drains and causing flooding around the city.

As the storm moved south, residents of a large swath of the state’s central region were on high alert for flash flooding.

In the small seaside town of Soquel, hundreds of residents have stranded when a creek overflowed and washed away part of the main road that was the only way for a mountain community.

About 150 miles inland in Fresno County, the black sky stretched over fields soaked in torrential rain. Farm teams have been working to pump water out of crops. An RV park was evacuated because of flooding from the fast-flowing Kings River.

Planada, a small town in Merced . County suffered some of the worst flooding from California hurricanes in January, also under the evacuation order. Two months ago, hundreds of homes and cars in a small community of farm workers were destroyed in an atmospheric river.

“Everybody is scared now,” said Rodrigo Espinosa, the county supervisor representing Planada, nine miles east of Merced. “They don’t want it to happen again.”

Officials said flood control dams on major creeks near Planada are expected to reach full capacity Friday night.

A combination of extreme weather in a drought-stricken state led Newsom to announce an executive order on Friday that will take advantage of California’s massive snow cover and at least two more atmospheric rivers that are projected to ants will arrive in the next few days. By relaxing state regulations, the order allows local water agencies to easily divert floodwater to replenish the state’s severely depleted groundwater supply.

The move comes after criticism that California has dumped trillions of gallons of water into the ocean during repeated heavy rains this winter. Water agencies and experts say the state’s strict rules restricting who can get water from streams and creeks. prohibits local authorities from capturing redundant streams, though water reserves are essential to prepare for the state’s next dry spell. The executive order went into effect Friday and will run through June 10.

In Southern California, the rain had many residents of the San Bernardino Mountains braced for what it could do with heavy snow covering rooftops. A historic amount of snow has fallen in the mountains over the past two weeks, clogging roads and leaving people stranded. Homeowners spent part of the week trying to clear what they could before the rain added weight to the snow on the roof, potentially causing the house to collapse.

By Friday afternoon, rainfall had eased in Watsonville, where sandbags lined up in front of garage doors and many people were staying home despite evacuation orders. There was an air of calm in the town, and even curiosity, with villagers appearing at the edge of the dikes to peek at the rushing floodwaters.

On the outskirts of the city, several farmers have emerged to begin clearing mud and debris blocking the path to their strawberry farm and apple orchard.

The fields, with their furrows, became once more vast pools of water.

Soumya Karlamangla, Jesus Jimenez, Holly Secon, happy vik, Jill Cowan, Alex Hoeft And Judson Jones contribution report.