Toppled tree falls on roof of California house as state battles floods and landslides
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The death toll has increased to at least nine people from California’s severe storms, officials said.
The storm, which has unleashed biblical proportions of rain this week, was expected to continue impacting the state through Friday. Tornado and hail warnings were issued for parts of the central coast, including Morro Bay and Los Osos on Wednesday afternoon.
Four people were killed in California by falling trees, the Office of Emergency Management said. Three were killed in vehicle collisions in the Bay area. Another fatality was caused by a vehicle being swept away in a flood channel. An individual died while trying to cross the US-Mexico border across the Tijuana River.
Officials warned residents not to let their guards down on Wednesday. Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass asked residents to be prepared, and warned about the risk of saturated hillsides. “We cannot drop our guard,” she said.
It comes as community organisers described the City’s response to its homeless population as “abysmal” and accused LA authorities of “bold-faced-lies”.
The storm, caused by a massive atmospheric river, has led to one of the wettest periods in southern California’s record.
Flash flood warning for parts of California, including Los Angeles
A flash flood warning is in place for parts of California, including Los Angeles, Long Beach and Pomona, the National Weather Service (NWS) said.
The warning will stay in place until 3am. NWS urged drivers to take extra precaution on the road and avoid driving through flooded roads.
Stuti Mishra8 February 2024 10:00
Hail, tornado warnings issued for California central coast
The National Weather Service has issued tornado and hail warnings for residents in Morro Bay and Los Osos. While pea-sized hail and 55mph winds are possible in Atascadero CA, Morro Bay CA and Cayucos CA until 4.15 PM PST.
The tornado warning has only been issued for 4.15pm
Mike Bedigan8 February 2024 09:00
Millions of gallons of raw sewage spills into Pacific after heaving flooding in California
On Monday, Long Beach City Health Officer, Dr Anissa Davis, ordered all recreational swimming areas temporarily closed for water contact due to two separate sewage spills.
Sewage had also leaked into the Compton Creek leading to the Los Angeles River, the release added.
In addition to the spill in Rancho Dominguez – located between Compton and Long Beach – another 40,000 gallons of sewage were reported to have spilled in the City of Commerce. Mike Bedigan reports.
Floodwaters pour into Pacific Ocean
(Accuweather)
Mike Bedigan8 February 2024 07:00
Is it time for a Cat 6?
A handful of super powerful tropical storms in the last decade and the prospect of more to come has a couple of experts proposing a new category of whopper hurricanes: Category 6.
Studies have shown that the strongest tropical storms are getting more intense because of climate change. So the traditional five-category Saffir-Simpson scale, developed more than 50 years ago, may not show the true power of the most muscular storms, two climate scientists suggest in a Monday study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. They propose a sixth category for storms with winds that exceed 192 miles per hour (309 kilometers per hour). The Associated Press
Mike Bedigan8 February 2024 05:00
California residents survey damage caused by historic storms: ‘We were in shock’
Firefighters responded to a heavy debris flow in the Beverly Crest area of Los Angeles on Sunday night, evacuating seven homes.
Residents told Mike Bedigan they had ‘not even remotely had anything like this before’. Read the full story here:
Unhoused community members worried to compete for limited housing space during storms
Community organiser Carla Orendorff told The Independent that there were around 10,000 unhoused people in the area of San Fernando valley alone and that the idea of competing with others for such limited space was heartbreaking for some.
One individual, she said, had told her: “I don’t have a chance and honestly getting my hopes up that way would kill me.”
On Wednesday, the LA Mayor’s office said that Los Angeles Homeless Services Association (LAHSA) had activated six additional shelters for people experiencing homelessness “in addition to the seven previously established winter shelters”.
An exact number of additional beds was not given.
Mike Bedigan8 February 2024 03:00
Watch: Community organisers cut up tarps for ‘storm kits’ for unhoused community
Community organisers cut up tarps for ‘storm kits’ for unhoused community
Mike Bedigan8 February 2024 02:30
In pictures: LA’s unhoused community struggles with severe weather
(Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
(AP)
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Mike Bedigan8 February 2024 01:00
A Los Angeles school is set to reopen after it was closed due to heavy rainfall.
Officials announced that Topanga Elementary Charter School will reopen following heavy rainfall this week. The Los Angeles Unified School District confirmed the news in a post to X, formerly Twitter.
The campus will be open from 7.30am. Parents and guardians should call the school if they have any questions. Another Los Angeles school, Vinedale College Prepatory Academy closed this week due to weather conditions but reopened on Wednesday.
Michelle Del Rey7 February 2024 23:40
