Pacific storm wreaks havoc in Southern California
LOS ANGELES: A huge Pacific storm that unloaded over Southern California – ravaging roads, opening sinkholes and leading to the deaths of at least three people – eased off on Saturday. But it was only a temporary reprieve as new storms took aim farther north.
The National Weather Service predicted drying weather yesterday followed by the return of wet weather in the region. But while flash-flood watches for Southern California were cancelled, Northern California and the San Francisco Bay Area were facing a weekend return of heavy rain and winds that lashed them earlier in the week before the storm moves out. Authorities said the San Joaquin River is reaching flood stage, and they warned some residents to be ready to evacuate in case it reaches dangerous levels.
“Stronger southerly winds and widespread flooding will be likely as an atmospheric river (of moisture) takes aim somewhere along the central California Coast,” a weather statement warned.
The approaching rain could cause more problems in the far north, where damage to spillways of the Oroville Dam forced the evacuation of 188 000 people last weekend.
The California Department of Water Resources, however, said Saturday night that the level of Lake Oroville continues to fall despite the stormy weather, and the amount of water flowing down the spillway continues to be cut. The amount of water flowing down the spillway has been reduced to 1 557cubic metres a second, the department said. Earlier this week outflows were at nearly 2 831 cubic metres a second.
Meanwhile, authorities were dealing with the fallout, including overflowing rivers, mudslide threats in foothill areas denuded by previous fires, road collapses and hundreds of toppled trees in neighbourhoods.
North-west of Sacramento, nearly 200 people were evacuated on Saturday as overflowing creeks turned the town of Maxwell into a brown pond, with some homes getting 60cm of water. Fire Chief Kenny Cohen said nearly 100 homes and the elementary school filled with water before it began receding.
In the southern California desert town of Victorville, several cars were washed down a flooded street. In Los Angeles, a man was electrocuted when heavy rain downed power lines that hit his car and a sinkhole swallowed two cars. Emergency repairs to the freeway could cost $3 million (R39m).