Biden Declares State of Emergency for California

President Joe Biden has declared a state of emergency for California as more severe storms hit the state.

The president has ordered federal assistance to help state, tribal, and local response efforts due to the emergency conditions resulting from the winter storms.

The National Weather Service warned of a “relentless parade of atmospheric rivers” — storms that are long plumes of moisture stretching out into the Pacific and are capable of dropping staggering amounts of rain and snow. Two major storms are expected to drop heavy rainfall on the coast and snow in the mountains over the next couple of days.

For days, California has been walloped by Pacific storms that last week knocked out power to thousands, flooded streets, and battered the coastline with high surf.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said 12 people died as a result of violent weather during the past 10 days, and he warned that this week’s storms could be even more dangerous. He urged people to stay home and asked President Joe Biden to declare a federal emergency to support storm response and recovery efforts.

Posted by Jeff Lemucchi