Los Angeles, US, Feb 4 (EFE).- California declared a state of emergency for eight counties in the south of the state, including Los Angeles, on Sunday due to a winter storm predicted to bring heavy rains and snow.
Governor Gavin Newsom said disaster management resources and California National Guard personnel would be deployed in Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, and Ventura counties.
Newsom did not rule out expanding the emergency declaration to other affected state regions.
The National Weather Service (NWS) in Los Angeles said Sunday that a flood watch is in force for all areas of the metropolitan region.
More than half a million Californians were without power today due to heavy rains and winds, according to PowerOutage.us.
Media reports said 19 people were rescued off the California coast of Long Beach after the mast of a sailboat broke due to strong winds. Only one suffered injuries, and the ship was damaged but did not sink.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told reporters that the storm hitting the region “is a serious climate event.”
“This has the potential to be a historic storm: high winds, thunderstorms and even brief tornadoes,” said Bass.
Residents of several cities in Ventura County were forced to evacuate due to the danger of flooding.
Thousands remain alert for flash flood warnings, especially in fire-hit and coastal areas from California’s border with Mexico to northern San Francisco Bay.
The NWS warned that the storm could leave records of accumulated rain of more than 15 centimeters.
“Given the large amounts of rainfall expected in the period, 3-6 hour rainfall rates could be problematic, potentially leading to mud and debris flow issues as well as rapid water overflows into local rivers and streams.” said the NWS.
Warnings for strong winds of up to 100 km per hour are also in force for almost 30 million people in inland areas across the state.
The foothills and mountains, which expect record snowfall on Sunday, could have wind gusts of around 150 km per hour. EFE
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