The recent flooding of San Bernardo to Mendocino just began on 31 Dec. 2022. In just a couple of days, thousands of buildings are either damaged or without power, roads have been fully closed and several people have died.
Around 90% of Californians are under a flood watch, according to BBC News. Those who are not in immediate danger have been instructed to shelter in place.
Seventeen people have been reported dead. With the flood’s powerful currents caused by the storm’s harsh winds and rain, people can be easily swept away into the flood.
Antioch Community High School math teacher Michael McDermott is from California and has family that is currently being affected by the flooding. They did not have to evacuate, however they have been landlocked.
“There are floods happening about five miles up the highway one direction and 10 miles the other way,” McDermott said. “So they are sheltering in place with sandbags right along the coast. The highways will probably be open within a week or two, but they’re probably going to be landlocked until then.”
The main factor causing the heavy rains and snowing in the California area is the atmospheric rivers. Atmospheric rivers are long flowing winds in the atmosphere that serve to move water vapor throughout the sky.
The flood is causing these atmospheric rivers to become even bigger. The atmospheric rivers going over California gather more and more moisture as it makes its way through the atmosphere. Once the winds rise in elevation, that is when the mass amounts of rain and snow begin to fall.
Flooding, especially one to this caliber, could take a long time to clean up. Floods have the strength and possibility to move homes off their foundations and litter the streets with debris. Cleaning up all of the wreckage and making sure that the roads are functional for the public could take a while.
“Typically, flooding would start to dissipate within up to a week,” science teacher Stacy Krabbe said. “If the storms with these atmospheric rivers continue, I’m thinking that it’s not just going to take a week, it’s going to keep adding to the current floods. And I’m thinking at least several weeks for this water to all move out after it continues to keep coming in.”
Many parts of California are still underwater; several homes and businesses have been extremely damaged by the natural disaster. The storm has stopped, however, which provides some relief to the residents of the Golden State who had to deal with this tragedy.
