While the US state of California is in the grip of severe cold, more powerful storms are likely to hit the area. Meanwhile, the situation has worsened due to floods in the state. It is as if the whole city is submerged in flood water. A boy was also swept away by the flood waters. Last month, after the storm in December, floods disrupted normal life. Due to which a large number of people have been affected. So far many people have died due to floods. Read international news here.
Flood warnings have been issued for millions of residents of the state. About 50,000 people have been ordered to leave their areas and over 1,10,000 homes and business centers have experienced power outages due to heavy rains, lightning, hail and landslides.
The city of Capitola was badly affected by the flood
California Governor Gavin Newsom said during a visit to the coastal city of Capitola in Santa Cruz that at least 17 people have died in the storm and related incidents that began in late December last year. The city was badly affected by the floods last week.
The California Highway Patrol said those killed in the incidents included a pickup truck driver and a motorcyclist who died Tuesday morning when a eucalyptus tree fell on Highway 99 in the San Joaquin Valley near Visalia.
Roads are still closed at many places due to landslides
“These conditions are serious and life-threatening,” Newsom said. The effects of the storm, which began Monday, dumped more than a foot and a half (45 cm) of rain in the Southern California mountains and more than five feet (1.5 m) of snow in the Sierra Nevada ski resorts.
Roads are closed due to rocks and landslides from the mountains. Parts of the road have turned into waterways due to floods. Many houses have been washed away due to flowing rivers. “We’re all stuck here,” resident Brian Briggs said. Flooding triggered a landslide in remote Matilija Canyon, completely submerging a home and cutting off the only road to nearby Ojai.
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