“Major storm” hits California, at least 3 dead

Three people have been killed by falling trees in California. The state is facing severe storm from this weekend. Nearly half a million homes were left without power due to flooding and high winds. Torrential rains are falling in the south of the “Golden State”, where it has been raining continuously for over 24 hours. In the north, where the storm was most violent, at least three people were killed by falling trees on Sunday, according to local officials.

“This is a major storm, with potentially life-threatening consequences.”, California Governor Gavin Newsom warned, declaring a state of emergency in eight of the state’s 58 counties. Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Santa Barbara, all located in the south, are particularly affected.

Like the rest of the region, the city of Los Angeles experiences flooding that can cut off certain roads or intersections, as well as dangerous landslides. This prompted officials to issue evacuation orders for the Hollywood and Santa Monica Hills, which overlook the metropolis. In this affluent area, mudslides literally buried cars and pulled houses off their foundations, according to images from local channel KTLA.

“It sounded like a clap of thunder”Dave Christensen, a local resident, explained to the channel. “When I went out to see what happened, I saw a water heater where the house was, and sure enough, the house had slid down the slope onto the road.”He clarified.

Officials have urged caution amid the torrential rains

For Los Angeles, “Yesterday was the tenth wettest day since we started recording rainfall levels in 1877”Mayor Karen Bass emphasized that during a press conference on Monday. “Now more than ever, stay safe and stay off the roads. Leave your home only if absolutely necessary.”she insisted.

Officials are raising cautionary messages, as the rain is expected to continue into Tuesday or into Wednesday. It falls on land saturated by the first storm last week, which increases the risk of flooding, because the earth can no longer absorb anything.

“The Los Angeles metropolitan area, as well as areas approximately 50 miles (80 km) to the east and west, remains at high risk of severe flooding, debris flows and landslides for at least the next 24 hours”Daniel Swain, an expert on extreme weather events at the University of California at Los Angeles, warned on Monday.

Climate disruption with serious consequences

According to expert site PowerOutage.us, more than 400,000 homes and businesses were without power at midday Monday. This particularly affected the north of the state, where winds gusted over 160 km/h in the San Francisco area on Sunday. On Monday, dozens of flights departing and arriving at Los Angeles Airport were canceled or delayed.

Like previous storms, this one is due “Atmospheric River”: A large corridor of precipitation that transforms water vapor stored in the tropics around Hawaii. In California, this particular phenomenon is nicknamed “Pineapple Express”. The West Coast of the United States endured an unusually wet winter last year, thanks to a series of closely spaced storms that brought record-breaking rainfall.

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These disasters caused more than twenty deaths and countless damage and power outages. But they allowed California to replenish part of its water reserves after several years of severe drought.

Historically, California is used to alternating between hot spells and heavy rains, and linking any particular weather event to climate change is always complicated. However, scientists have been warning for years that global warming is disrupting the climate and increasing the frequency of extreme events, whether storms or heatwaves.