Within just a few days, California has been pummeled twice by extreme weather events called atmospheric rivers. The atmospheric rivers have been described as “relatively narrow plumes of moisture that form over an ocean and can produce torrential amounts of rain as they move over land,” the Associated Press reported.
California Southern Baptist Disaster Relief are responding in San Diego and have flood assessment leaders at community meetings in Santa Barbara, according to reports from Disaster Relief leaders on a conference call. The state’s Disaster Relief anticipates deploying additional flood recovery teams to the Santa Barbara area within the next two days.
RELATED: Check out more stories on Disaster Relief efforts here.
As a result of the “Pineapple Express,” which has hit Southern California with heavy rain, more than 1 million people are reportedly under flash-flooding warnings in places such as Los Angeles area, Hollywood Hills and Beverly Hills.
In Northern California, streets were flooded, trees were downed, and power lines were collapsed as wind gusts exceeded 80 miles an hour. The weather service issued a rare “hurricane force wind warning” for the Central Coast, the AP reported, with wind gusts of up to 92 mph.
Areas hit by wildfires at high risk
In canyon areas that were impacted by recent wildfires, evacuations reportedly have been ordered due to high risks for mud slides.
The National Weather Service for Los Angeles warned that “all systems are go for one of the most dramatic weather days in recent memory.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom has issued a state of emergency for Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.
At least one person has been reported killed from a falling tree in Yuba City, California.
Currently, the atmospheric river is stalled over Southern California bringing ongoing flooding, high winds, and widespread power outages, CNN reports. The system is also reportedly expected to fuel high snowfall totals along the state’s eastern border, with 2–3 inches an hour across the Sierra Nevada.
