More than 22 million people in Southern California are under a flood warning until at least Saturday night, due to a series of heavy rains that will fall in the region from a major atmospheric river that is lashing the area.
The severe storm is expected to last through the weekend, increasing the risk of flash floods, landslides and debris avalanches.
Flood Warning for Southern California
As a result, authorities have issued evacuation warnings for several areas in Southern California, especially those affected by recent fires. The alerts cover areas near the Palisades, Eaton, Kenneth, Sunset and Hurst fires, which occurred last January in the Los Angeles metropolitan area.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued evacuation orders for certain vulnerable properties within the areas affected by the fires.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, announced the deployment of specialized emergency response resources to at least five counties in the southern part of the state, including water rescue teams and helicopters.
“When bad weather threatens our communities, we don’t wait to react, we anticipate,” Newsom said. The threat of heavy rain is forecast to extend through Saturday and part of Sunday, the National Weather Service (NWS) warned.
The greater Los Angeles area is likely to accumulate up to 10 centimeters (cm) of rain (4 inches) over the weekend due to the atmospheric river, which will peak on Saturday.
Forecasters warn that the area could see more rain than usual in November in as little as 24 hours from this storm. Bass said impacts to the area could include power outages, mudslides and possible road flooding.
Los Angeles typically receives 2 cm (0.8 inches) of rainfall throughout November.
The record for that month, recorded in 1965, was 24.6 cm (9.68 inches).
If it rains as forecast, this storm could make downtown Los Angeles the wettest November since 1985, according to a Los Angeles Times analysis.
Multiple outdoor events have been canceled in Southern California, including two large food banks, which would help alleviate the problems generated by the federal government’s shutdown of the SNAP food assistance program.
Filed under: Southern California Flood Warning
With information from EFE
