Biden declares state of emergency in California following storm
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Following a week of storms that killed at least 12 people and knocked out power for hundreds of thousands of houses and businesses in California, a state of emergency has been declared in the state.
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Three vehicles are submerged on Dillard Road west of Highway 99 in south Sacramento County in Wilton, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 1, 2023. (AP)
US President Joe Biden has declared a state of emergency in the state of California and authorized the federal assistance to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, save lives, and protect property and public health and safety, the White House said on Monday.
"The President’s action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety, and to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in the counties of El Dorado, Los Angeles, Mariposa, Mendocino, Merced, Monterey, Napa, Placer, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Sonoma, Stanislaus, and Ventura," the White House statement stated.
Category B emergency protective measures will be 75% federally funded.
FEMA has appointed Andrew F. Grant as the federal coordinating officer for federal recovery operations in the affected areas.
At least 12 people were reported dead due to the ongoing winter storms in California.
Monitoring service poweroutage.us earlier reported an atmospheric river storm that hit California on the west coast of the United States has left over 500,000 people without power.
According to the website, 556,374 people are left with no electricity.
The National Weather Service of the United States reported on Thursday that an atmospheric river was moving toward the country's west coast. California has experienced significant snowfall, heavy rain, and flooding as a result of the storm. Almost 160,000 people were without power on Thursday.
Read more: Storm cuts power for over half million people in California
Heavy rainfall hit California, bringing flooding to San Francisco and neighboring areas and leading to inundated roads, landslides, and evacuation orders. New Year's Eve saw the second-highest daily rainfall total on record in downtown San Francisco (with records going back to 1949), with 5.46 inches recorded. This is more than 25 percent of the annual average rainfall and only 0.08 inch short of the all-time record set in November 1994.
