Finance
At least 16 people have died in a series of severe winter storms in California, which is bracing for more floods and mudslides.
The death toll rose to 16 after two motorists were killed earlier in the day on Highway 99 in Tulare County when a lightning-struck tree fell on the road, according to Xinhua news agency.
This death toll exceeds the total number of people killed in wildfires in the previous two years.
“Our message to Californians is simple: be hyper-vigilant,” California Governor Gavin Newsom in a statement, adding that “there are still several days of severe winter weather ahead and we need all Californians to be alert and heed the advice of emergency officials”.
President Joe Biden approved Newsom’s request for a federal emergency declaration on Sunday night, mobilizing the full force of the federal government to support the state’s storm response and recovery efforts.
Winter storms continued to dump heavy rains on California, causing flooding, road closures, power outages, and mandatory evacuations in many areas.
On Monday, thousands of people were ordered to evacuate from Montecito, California.
In January 2018, a massive mudslide caused by heavy rains swept through the coastal community, destroying 130 homes and killing 23 people.
Newsom noted that Monday marked the fifth anniversary of the deadly Montecito mudslide, as the entire coastal community in Santa Barbara County was evacuated once more.
“It’s a solemn reminder of how quickly conditions can change,” said the Governor.
According to PowerOutage.us, a website that collects live power outage data from utilities across the country, over 160,000 homes and businesses in California were still without power as of Tuesday afternoon.
On Tuesday, the National Weather Service warned of “another high impact heavy precipitation event” across much of California, with thunderstorms and very gusty winds.
“Back-to-back atmospheric river events continue to hammer California and pose flooding threats. Radar showed widespread moderate to heavy rainfall across much of California this afternoon,” said the agency.
Source:OCN
