Your contributions will be directed to support the displaced families of California as they battle heavy floods, high winds and rain.
Millions of California residents awoke Wednesday to the continuing threat of flooding and other effects of extreme weather, after the latest bout of high wind and heavy precipitation disrupted electric service, strained levees and forced evacuations and road closures.
Flood and winter storm warnings stemming from the “atmospheric river” that swept across the state on Tuesday were still in effect on parts of California as of 7 a.m. Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service, although their geographic scope had tapered overnight. By daybreak, the brunt of the rain had begun clearing out of Los Angeles and Ventura counties and was expected to end later Wednesday morning in other parts of Southern California.
At least two people have died after California was hit with another storm that brought high force winds, heavy rain, and more flooding. Millions of people remain under flood watch as the 12th atmospheric river this season pummels the state. Over 125,000 customers are without power, according to Poweroutage.us. California’s severe weather is expected to subside on Wednesday, with forecasts suggesting the storm is headed inland.
On Tuesday, parts of the Pacific Coast highway were shut down due to flooding. The highest rainfall levels have so far occurred in the San Francisco Bay Area, where the National Weather Service recorded as much as 4.4in (11.17cm) of rain in some regions. Part of the retaining wall on one interstate cracked on Tuesday before collapsing under pressure of heavy rain, the San Francisco Chronicle reported, and chunks of concrete fell down the rain-soaked hill. Traffic delays from the damage are expected to last weeks or even months, officials said.
In another part of the Bay Area, a man driving a sewer truck was killed after high winds knocked a tree onto his vehicle, a local CBS affiliate reported. A train carrying 55 passengers through the Bay Area collided with another downed tree and derailed. No one was injured. Coastal flood advisories are in effect around San Francisco through Thursday. Thousands have been evacuated from two small California towns, Alpaugh and Allensworth, in the central part of the state in Tulare County.
