Floods after dam burst: California experiences severe storms

Floods after dam rupture
California experiences severe storms

03/11/2023, 11:50 p.m

Heavy storms are raging again in the western United States. After a dam burst, the Pajaro River bursts its banks, and thousands of people have to leave their homes. At least two people have died in the recent storm.

The US state of California continues to be hit by severe storms. A dam along the Pajaro River in central California south of Santa Cruz broke on Saturday night, local authorities said. Thousands of residents in the surrounding communities had previously been asked to leave their homes because of the threat of flooding. Rescue workers came to the aid of those who did not heed the appeals, some having to be rescued from their flooded cars.

In some other areas, too, people were asked to leave their homes and go to higher ground for safety reasons because of fears of flooding. The west coast state of California is currently facing heavy rain and snowfall. At least two people have died in connection with the storms in the past few days, according to the local emergency services office.

Since January, the state on the west coast of the country, which has often been plagued by dryness and drought in the past, has been repeatedly hit by unusually heavy rainfall. In the higher parts of California, on the other hand, an unusual amount of snow has fallen in recent weeks, and 20 people have died in the winter storms. The reason for the current heavy precipitation is a weather phenomenon called “atmospheric flow”. According to the German Weather Service, this means “a relatively narrow, directed band of moisture-saturated air” that can be up to 500 kilometers wide and 2,000 kilometers long. Such systems transported much of the water vapor outside the tropics.