United States: severe flooding in California

Yesterday, March 11th, California experienced a new storm following three months of accumulated snowfall. A significant number of residents were evacuated as a result.

Torrents of water and mud, rivers bursting out of their beds, swollen by torrential rains and melting snow. Exceptional floods affect all of California (United States), from Los Angeles to Sacramento. In Fresno (United States), the inhabitants barely had time to realize, before fleeing in the middle of the night. “We saw the water coming with my husband. We grabbed a few bags and did our best,” says a woman.

The flood washed away a road

Further south, in Arroyo Grande (United States), the city is completely flooded. In a few weeks, the inhabitants experienced the blizzard, then the floods. A mother plans to move. “How can I stay here with my children, and with my elderly mother?” she asks. 300km further north, in Soquel (United States), 450 households are cut off from the world. The flood washed away the only road in the area. 10,000 people were ordered to evacuate, and a state of emergency was declared across California.