California Storms

• The series of winter storms in late December 2022 through mid-January 2023 caused at least 22 storm-related deaths across California, which is more lives lost than wildfires in the past two years combined. Storms in early March resulted in the deaths of at least two people. On March 9, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office said it had responded to 13 death investigations, but it was unclear how many lives had been lost due to various blizzard-related factors including downed power lines and blocked roads preventing people from accessing critical medical care. At least five people were killed when a bomb cyclone hit California on March 21.
• The California Geological Survey (CGS) said they had counted more than 700 landslides across the state between Dec. 30, 2022 and Jan. 23, 2023. CGS said, “Large, deep-seated landslides can happen weeks to months after heavy rains and remain a hazard through the spring and summer.”
• The National Weather Service (NWS) declared a “high risk” of excessive rainfall in both coastal and mountainous zones in California the week of March 13. The NWS only makes such proclamations about 15 times a year across the U.S., but they are associated with 80% of flood losses.
• The storms through January 2023 helped the Sierra Nevada region to reach more than 200% of its typical snowpack for that time of year, which eased immediate drought concerns. By March, many areas in the Sierra had already surpassed 600 inches of snowfall, and statewide the snowpack improved to 212% of normal.
• According to the National Weather Service Weather Prediction Center, the statewide average rainfall for California between Dec. 26 and Jan. 17 was 11.47 inches.
• Precipitation totals broke records including in San Francisco, which on Jan. 4 marked the wettest 10-day period since January 1862.
• AccuWeather said on March 14: “There is now about 5 times the historical average of water locked up in the snow cover in the southern Sierra, more than double the average in the central Sierra and 1.6 times the average across the north.”
• Data from the California Department of Water Resources indicates that the state’s snowpack total for 2022-23 likely surpassed the record set 40 years ago in 1982-83. While the news was welcome in drought-ridden California, it does come with flooding risk.
• Following weeks of rain and snow, short-term drought conditions and reservoir levels improved, but California is not in the clear when it comes to long-term drought. By early March the amount of water in the snowpack was expected to continue to alleviate leftover drought conditions but also contribute to ongoing flooding.
• Estimates from Moody’s put the total U.S. economic losses from the California flooding and severe weather in late December 2022 through mid-January 2023 at $5 billion to $7 billion. The flood’s damage highlighted the need to address infrastructure, which requires significant resources.
• The storms and damages from subsequent flooding resulted in the disaster becoming one of the first of 2023 to be included in the National Centers for Environmental Information’s list of billion-dollar disasters.

A spokesperson for the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services said on Jan. 17 that the number of houses and other structures that will be red-tagged as uninhabitable could be in the “low thousands.”

A challenge for homeowners when it comes to recovery and reconstruction is the fact that very few homes in California are protected by flood insurance. According to Moody’s, less than 2% of California households have flood insurance.

Following this series of disasters, the presence of mud and debris in homes is a significant health and safety concern and prevented people from getting back into their homes.

Residents and business owners in Northern California were victims to “snow loading” which occurs when rain weighs down on snow already settled on a roof, potentially causing collapse.

Santa Cruz County spokesman Jason Hoppin said the storm damaged 131 homes in the county. At least one home was buried by a landslide in remote Matilija Canyon, near the town of Ojai. The canyon creek flooded and the surrounding hills, which were stripped of vegetation in the 2017 Thomas Fire, began to sweep down. Officials in Calaveras County red-tagged 20 homes for being inhabitable due to storm damage.

In San Joaquin County, 175 residents of a mobile housing park were evacuated on Jan. 15 due to flooding. Mobile home residents have higher exposure to natural hazards such as wind and tornadoes, hurricanes, extreme heat, wildfires and flooding compared to those who live in other types of housing. On Oct. 12, CDP hosted a webinar about the increased risks manufactured homes face and the role they play in disaster recovery.

Significant damages were reported across the state to roads, bridges, water facilities, public buildings and equipment. According to Monterey County officials, the county suffered at least $30 million in public infrastructure damage during the early 2023 storms. In Sonoma County, officials estimated that storm system caused about $11 million in initial damage to local roads and other public infrastructure.

Damages to public infrastructure can have knock-on effects including blocking access to isolated or rural communities. The heavy precipitation resulted in dramatic images of sinkholes which occur when collected water weakens the ground supporting the surface above, making it more prone to collapse.

On March 12, residents in Monterrey County were forced to evacuate after the Pajaro River’s levee was breached by flooding from the latest atmospheric river to pummel the state. The evacuation orders applied to around 1,700 residents from the unincorporated community of Pajaro, many of them Latino farmworkers. A state law passed last year provided state funds for a levee project, which was scheduled to start construction in 2024. For decades, government officials have known that the levee was vulnerable “yet never prioritized repairs largely because their cost-benefit analysis didn’t value the losses of a low-income town.”

Investments in infrastructure aimed to provide relief to California, which has been stuck in drought for decades, paid off as millions of gallons of rainwater fell across the state. Rainwater captured by cisterns, catches, wells and underground basins represent gradual and not insignificant progress on the goal of improving the collection of rainwater.

By mid-January, the storms had helped the Sierra Nevada region reach more than 200% of its typical snowpack for that time of year, which eased immediate drought concerns.

By March, many areas in the Sierra surpassed 600 inches of snowfall and the snowpack in California has improved to 212% of normal. Regarding total surface water availability, the short-term recent drought is essentially over but the long-term drought remains due to groundwater deficits.

Although the drought monitor as of May 11 (see image below) showed improvement, much of California remains in some sort of drought or abnormally dry conditions. The state would likely need to have many wet winters to make significant gains in groundwater storage.

“The water issues haven’t gone away,” said Jay Lund, vice director of the Center for Watershed Sciences at the University of California, Davis, “they’re just taking more of a backseat.”

The abundance of snow and rainfall could also lead to spring flooding as the snow melts. After years without enough water, officials have been forced to take drastic measures like releasing excess water from reservoirs. With much of the storm’s runoff ending up in the ocean, there is renewed interest in capturing rainfall for dry times.

Disasters occur when natural hazards, like floods, interact with exposure, vulnerability and capacity conditions. A natural hazard will only become a disaster if it impacts the workings of a society or community. Societies make economic, planning and socio-economic decisions that shape their vulnerability to the hazard. Often, it is populations who have been pushed to the margins of society and face structural inequalities that are most at-risk to disaster impacts.

In this disaster, low-income older adults needed relief support, particularly those who have been pushed into housing that is located on floodplains and in the wildland-urban interface. Some older adults may have unique recovery needs or may be more at-risk compared to other populations, and their specific needs cannot be ignored

On the other hand, older adults often provide essential volunteer services, a financial safety net for younger, less-established family members and emotional support to others affected. It is important to include older adults in disaster recovery and consider the contributions they can make in their communities.

There are more than 170,000 homeless people living in California and these individuals face significant challenges in the aftermath of the disaster. The Governor’s Office of Emergency Services has met with representatives of community agencies and nonprofits across California to connect homeless people and other vulnerable groups with resources and shelters. Recovery support for safe shelter and mental health will be needed.

CDP has heard from philanthropic groups in California that tribal nations and mixed immigration status families needed support. Indigenous peoples and tribal nations will require resources and partnership to meet immediate needs and longer-term recovery priorities. It is important that tribal nations’ sovereignty is acknowledged and respected and that engagement is based on relationship and trust. Mixed immigration status families were frightened and may not be eligible for or feel comfortable accessing certain services being offered, especially those coming from government agencies.

Farmworkers generally experience a high level of poverty and few have employment benefits or access to unemployment benefits. In California, farmworkers were concerned about the state’s drought and its impact on their livelihoods. During the storms, they lost out on work and wages and may face health risks in returning to work.