Storm system batters southern California

A pair of evacuation orders and flood warnings were given to areas across California during the late weeks of December and early weeks of January. Heavy rainfall led to flooding, mudslides and power outages in the places worst affected. Montecito, Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara and Sacramento all received danger alerts due to high winds and flooding. 

There have been many reports of homes flooding and buildings being damaged by rain especially in Santa Cruz. However, one of the largest problems people encountered was the flooding of the roads. The main highways connecting southern California, the 5 and 101, were flooded after the heavy rainfall. This caused many accidents and 19 reported deaths. 

Mudslides were also affecting the roads. The dry California dirt was not used to being so completely saturated with water, causing it to be prone to sliding. The wind and rain from the storms have caused soil erosion, harming and uprooting vegetation. Two victims were in Montecito after returning from a vacation and were killed by a deadly mudslide on their way to their home.

Many homes were affected by the extremely strong winds. Many trees fell onto homes and cars, causing millions of dollars in damages. Trees also fell on power lines and left many people without electricity. Many schools were negatively affected by the outages.  

The New York Times article by Judson Jones, Luke Vander Ploeg and Carly Stern stated, “ A powerful storm system across the state could bring more flooding and outages, after more than 300,000 customers lost electricity over the weekend.” Power outages are going to continue to be a problem while the winds are still strong. 

California has taken a beating by the intense weather of late and has begun to rebuild.