The winter storms in California in recent weeks caused devastating events that affected thousands of residents, leaving a long road to recovery for all communities that have been affected by climate change.
The winter storms caused innumerable material damages due to flooding and snow, but also human losses, with 21 deaths recorded so far.
Due to the need to recover from these impacts, the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services has issued a Mass Disaster Declaration that included 49 of the 58 counties in the Golden State for resource assistance from the federal government, of which 9 have been approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
The counties that have been approved so far are Merced, Santa Cruz, San Mateo, San Joaquin, Monterey, Sacramento, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Calavera.
"We want you to know that the State of California is committed to continuing to support communities and maximize the support that comes in for disaster recovery caused by the winter storms," said Diana Crofts-Pelayo, deputy director of Crisis Communications and Public Affairs for Cal OES at a press conference organized by Ethnic Media Services where experts gathered to report on the support available for recovery after the storms that hit California.
FEMA representative Brian Bui explained that Federal Disaster Assistance includes individual assistance for households ranging from mass care to unemployment assistance.
If you are interested in registering, you can call the FEMA helpline at 800-621-3362 or go to DisasterAssistance.gov, or visit your local Disaster Recovery Center before March 16, 2023.
Luis Santos-Serrano, Public Information Officer for the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), said the SBA offers low-interest disaster loans to businesses of all sizes, as well as private nonprofit organizations, homeowners and renters.
He also explained that companies of any size can receive a loan of up to two million dollars to repair damage caused by a natural disaster.
To apply to the SBA, interested parties can visit disasterloan.sba.gov/ela, call 800-659-2955, send an email to disasterloancustomerservice@sba.gov or go to your local Disaster Recovery Center.
Robert Troy, assistant director of the Interagency Recovery Coordination at Cal OES, explained that in addition to the support requested through the Mass Disaster Declaration, there is the Public Assistance Program, which supports communities and local governments to reimburse the costs of response and recovery from local impacts, which also frees up funds for other types of recovery assistance.
Dayana Contreras, manager of the Listos California program, said that the program's organization has provided support to communities since the beginning of the storms and reported that they have worked with other Catholic organizations to respond to the needs of those affected by the floods. She also indicated that those interested can access https://www.listoscalifornia.org/disaster-readiness/recovery-help/.
Experts warn of the need to be ready in case of another emergency
In recent years, climate change has caused a large number of natural disasters around the world, affecting thousands of people in its path, worrying experts and the community in general.
Crofts-Pelayo noted the need for communities to be prepared for any natural disaster, as climate change has increased the risks of suffering the consequences of an emergency, which is why Cal OES has predicted long-term natural disasters due to climate change.
"We have seen fire events like never before, fire has behaved differently and we have seen this in more than 10 years of experience... the fires are going to be more intense, the temperatures will be extreme and we cannot predict much but we want to make sure that communities have what they need to mitigate the damage they leave behind," he said.
Finally, Troy called for communities to be able to respond in a more resilient way in the event of another natural disaster, but also noted that there are supports that can even help people move from places that are considered high risk.
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