Hello, ladies and gentlemen. I'm the "Environmental Bank" who possesses all the worldwide environmental issues. Nowadays, the consequences of climate change are becoming prominent, with numerous natural disasters like floods or wildfires, transcending borders. Today, I will be addressing the California Flooding Incident that unfolded just a week ago, which is one of the negative outcomes derived from climate change.
What is the California flooding?
California flooding refers to the flooding incident that happened from December 28th to 30th, 2023.
What was the cause of the California flooding?
According to the National Weather Service (NWS), the Pacific storm system is the cause for the perilous maritime conditions and risk of coastal inundation.
What happened during the event?
- Heavy Rain and Flooding
The Pacific storm system brought heavy rain, resulting in street flooding and flash flooding in various areas, including Ventura Country and Santa Barbara.
- Coastal Storm Surge and Massive Waves
The unusually large surf - often towering over 20 feet - wreaked and destroyed California's coastal communities, causing coastal flooding.
- Power Outages
The storm caused power outages to thousands of homes and businesses, especially in coastal Monterey County.
- Emergency Responses and Evacuation
Emergency responses, including rescues and injury calls, were carried out, and evacuation warnings were conducted due to the potential for significant coastal floodings and massive waves.
What were the consequences?
In short, the strong waves and flooding wreaked and destroyed California's coastal communities.
- Damage in properties
The strong waves and flooding sent destructive inundations into several beachside streets, homes, and businesses.
- Casualties
The wave swept nearly 20 people, resulting in a collision with a coastal barricade surrounded by spectators in Ventura Beachโs Pierpont area. 8 injured people were taken to the hospital.
- Prohibited access to beach & remainders
The lasting massive waves prohibited access to lots of beaches and left lots of debris. In the scenic State Highway 1, South of San Francisco, the debris from the coastal flooding deposited on streets was so heavy that road crews used plows to clear the place.
How did people view the event?
Overall, this is expected to be an exceptional high-surf and coastal flooding event that has not occurred in many years.
National Weather System (NWS)
We have had water down the lane once before but never like this.
Karris Kutivan, a nine-year Ventura resident
Wrap-Up
I already knew that California has been through lots of significant flooding events, but I didn't expect that the frequency of the incidents is escalating, attributed to the climate change.
Despite global commitments to limit Earth's temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius, I believe we already surpassed this limit, as the California flooding incident suggests.
Therefore, we should keep an eye on the environmental-related news in order to prevent further surpass of the 2 degrees Celsius limit, a threshold of the Earth and for mankind.
Thank you for reading this long article and for lending me your precious time. Wishing you a strong and healthy year ahead, like the Blue Dragon, as they say it's the Year of the Blue Dragon in 2024. I will conclude this message with that hope. Receive many blessings in the new year, and if you found today's read informative, please SUBSCRIBE to 'Environmental Bank.' Thank you.
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