United States President Joe Biden has declared a major disaster in the state of California, as the latest in a succession of storm systems brought heavy flooding to already waterlogged regions and threatened snowfalls of up to two metres (six feet).
The latest system was expected to bring “heavy lower-elevation rain, significant mountain snow, and strong winds,” with “another surge of Pacific moisture” expected on Monday, the National Weather Service (NWS) said.
It predicted “disastrous flooding” across the lower Salinas River valley, a key agricultural region south of San Francisco Bay.
Late on Saturday, Biden “declared that a major disaster exists in the State of California and ordered Federal aid to supplement State, tribal, and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by severe winter storms, flooding, landslides, and mudslides”, the White House said in a statement.
Credit: aljazeera.com
